Lyme disease is an infectious disease which is caused by the microorganism Borrelia burgdorferi. Each year, 300000 people US and 85000 people in Europe are affected by Lyme disease. Although Lyme disease can be treated by antibiotics, the infection can be painful. But how does Lyme disease work? And how can we avoid Lyme disease?
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Lyme disease is an infectious disease which is caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted through the bite of a tick. When an infected tick bites us, Borrelia burgdorferi released into the bloodstream. Normally, the immune system would prevent Lyme disease by killing Borrelia burgdorferi but the bacterium and the tick release substances to block the immune system. We only find a round rash (Erythema migrans) shortly after being infected with Lyme disease. Lyme disease than causes a variety of symptoms including joint pain or headache. In later stages of Lyme disease, we also might get facial paralysis, sleep disruption and or arthritis. Many Lyme disease patients experience Post-Lyme disease long after antibiotics treatment. It is not clear why Post-Lyme disease occurs but this stage might take a long time and requires further intervention.
Borrelia burgdorferi is also known to potentially damage the brain by causing encephalopathy. There is also a link between Lyme disease infections and Alzheimer's disease.
In the past decades, Lyme disease has spread around the world. To avoid Lyme disease, we should be careful why walking through grassy areas. We also should wear long sleeved clothes in tick habitat, apply insect repellents and check ourselves for ticks. After a Lyme disease vaccine has been made unpopular in the 90s, scientists currently develop new Lyme disease vaccines. Lyme disease vaccines might help to stop Lyme disease.
0:00-1:09 Intro
1:09-3:54 How Does Lyme Disease Work?
3:54-5:48 Post-Lyme Disease Controversy
5:48-6:50 Can WE Prevent Lyme disease?
6:50-8:45 Lyme Disease Vaccines
For your Reading:
Kurokawa, Cheyne, et al. "Interactions between Borrelia burgdorferi and ticks." Nature Reviews Microbiology 18.10 (2020): 587-600.
Miklossy, Judith, et al. "Borrelia burgdorferi persists in the brain in chronic lyme neuroborreliosis and may be associated with Alzheimer disease." Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 6.6 (2004): 639-649.
Ścieszka, J., Dąbek, J., & Cieślik, P. (2015). Post-Lyme disease syndrome. Reumatologia, 53(1), 46.
Stone, B. L., Tourand, Y., & Brissette, C. A. (2017). Brave new worlds: the expanding universe of Lyme disease. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 17(9), 619-629.
Images:
Some pictures were derived from Servier Medical Art by Servier. You can find over 3000 free medical images here: smart.servier.com/
Erythema migrans by Ffurler, CC BY-SA 4.0
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About Clemens Steinek:
CLEMENS STEINEK is a PhD student/youtuber (LifeLabLearner) who is currently conducting stem cell research in Germany.