Lyme disease

Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis is an infectious tick-borne disease, caused by the Borrelia spirochete, a gram-negative microorganism.

Prevention

Avoiding areas in which ticks are found can reduce the probability of contracting Lyme disease. If such places cannot be avoided, exposure to Lyme disease can be reduced by:

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• applying insect repellent to exposed skin, especially those containing DEET; Permethrin can also be applied to clothing
• wearing light-coloured clothing so that ticks can be located easily and removed,
• wearing long sleeves and pants and tucking pant bottoms into the tops of socks.

In addition, tick removal immediately when found may prevent infection. It is an excellent idea to preserve the tick and have it tested for Lyme disease if the bite occurred in an endemic area. Carefully remove the tick with a pair of tweezers. Take extra care to preserve as much of the tick as you can for identification and laboratory testing.

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A vaccine against the North American strain of the virus was available between 1998 and 2002. When taking it off the market, the manufacturer cited poor sales, though some people believe that the actual reason was that the vaccine was not safe or effective at all. http://www.lymeinfo.net/vaccine2.html.

Related Topics:
Vaccine - 1998 - 2002

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