What is Lyme disease? What causes Lyme disease?

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Certain ticks, such as the blacklegged tick shown here, are frequently found on deer harboring the bacterium in their stomachs.

What is Lyme disease? What causes Lyme disease?


Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease caused by a bacterium called a "spirochete." In the United States, the actual name of the bacterium is Borrelia burgdorferi. In Europe, the bacteria Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii also cause Lyme disease. Certain ticks frequently found on deer from various locations harbor the bacterium in their stomachs. Borreliosis is spread by these infected ticks when they bite the skin, which permits the transmission of the spirochete through the skin to infect the body. So Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease. Lyme disease is not contagious from an affected person to someone else. Lyme disease can cause abnormalities in the skin, joints, heart, and nervous system.

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