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“Lyme Disease.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Jan. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html. 

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The most revealing aspect I learned about Lyme disease throughout this semester was that it is the most common vector-borne disease. I did not know about this prior, and it came as a shock to me to see that there is also such little information on the disease since it is newly emerging.

Something I learned about my disease that surprised me was that there was no treatment for post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Despite "recovering" from the original infection, some patients still experienced terrible symptoms, and there has yet to be any thorough research done on PTLDS.

While conducting my research on Lyme disease, I came upon the fact that the medical community still has no clear guidelines on what signs and symptoms should be considered for a proper diagnosis of Lyme disease. Along with this, there have not been any explicit treatment guidelines either. I think diagnosis criteria and treatments for a disease should have been a possible topic for one of the Padlet assignments, as they vary so much.

Overall, This class has been a delight and I was able to learn so much about a disease that I had very little knowledge on despite it being so common.

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Zhang, Xinzhi, et al. “Economic Impact of Lyme Disease.” Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 12, no. 4, 2006, pp. 653–660., https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1204.05060

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Lyme disease has had many effects, apart from just those that are physical. Its discovery has led to questions about human settlement expansion into more wildlife areas and whether it is worth the increased risk of Lyme disease. These have led to changes in community development and have emphasized the possible ecological implications that could come along with moving into forest habitats. Apart from this societal impact, Lyme disease has also had a huge economic impact, as the treatment for the disease was extremely expensive when it was first discovered, costing an average of $1609 per treatment in 1997. However, since then, the government and hospital boards have worked to reduce this average to $464 in 2000.

Society's behaviors definitely changed after the discovery of vector-borne illness, as this was something very new to even researchers. This brought fear and uncertainty into the picture, especially since the AIDS epidemic also occurred during this time. Because of this fear, society failed to address the disease quickly and efficiently.

Society did learn from the physical effects of the disease, as now people are less likely to panic and create chaos and rather attack the problem scientifically. Despite it taking much longer than it had to to find that antibiotics could treat Lyme disease, we have learned from this and used this knowledge to find treatments as soon as possible. For example, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccine was created relatively quickly.

“Critical Needs and Gaps in Understanding Prevention, Amelioration, and Resolution of Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases.” 2011, https://doi.org/10.17226/13134.

Larsen, Ashley E., et al. “Lyme Disease Risk Influences Human Settlement in the Wildland–Urban Interface: Evidence from a Longitudinal Analysis of Counties in the Northeastern United States.” The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 91, no. 4, 2014, pp. 747–755., https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.14-0181.

Zhang, Xinzhi, et al. “Economic Impact of Lyme Disease.” Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 12, no. 4, 2006, pp. 653–660., https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1204.050602.

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Borreliosis, also commonly known as Lyme disease, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. This disease is spread through vectors and is transmitted through tick bites, as the ticks carry the bacteria.

“Transmission.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Jan. 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html.

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Lyme disease was first detected in the 1970s in a rural area of Connecticut. From July 1st, 1984, to March 1st, 1986, following the first detected case, the state of Connecticut started a laboratory program to monitor Lyme disease.

Through IFA and ELISA assays, this laboratory program was able to suspect that the infectious agent causing Lyme disease was a spirochete bacteria named Borrelia burgdorferi.

Lyme disease is a vector-borne disease as well as an emerging infectious disease. Vector-borne diseases are those that occur from infections transmitted to humans by other animals. In the case of Lyme disease, it is a bite from an infected tick. In the late 20th century, Lyme disease was officially classified as an emerging infectious disease. Emerging infectious diseases are ones that have recently appeared in the population and are quickly increasing in frequency. Since its discovery, tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease are rapidly increasing as the tick population has also been growing.

“Lyme Disease -- Connecticut.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001024.htm.

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“Cases, Stats, Maps, & Graphs.” Lyme Disease Association, 16 Mar. 2019, https://lymediseaseassociation.org/cases-stats-maps-graphs/. 

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Lyme disease was first discovered in rural Connecticut in 1975 and began to spread to New England and the Midwest by the late 1970s due to deforestation. Then, in the late 20th century, Lyme disease cases and conditions began to improve in the northeastern US since woodland began to revert and the ecosystem proliferated. However, during the last 40 years, the infection has begun to spread rapidly, causing localized outbreaks in coastal areas such as New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore (Steere et al.).

During a study, the yearly risk of Lyme disease was found to be a little over 1 per 100 participants. The frequency of Lyme disease in Connecticut was similar to that in Slovenia and Austria in 1995. It was estimated that there were 120–130 cases per 100,000 residents.

Overall, Lyme disease has been rapidly growing in the United States, especially in the northeast (Steere et al.).

Steere, Allen C., et al. “The Emergence of Lyme Disease.” Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 113, no. 8, 2004, pp. 1093–1101., https://doi.org/10.1172/jci21681.

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Donta, Sam T., et al. “Report of the Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology of Lyme Disease Subcommittee of the HHS Tick Borne Disease Working Group.” Frontiers, Fron

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Virulence is the pathogen’s capacity to cause damage to the person or animal it affects. The virulence of Lyme disease is complicated, as many factors must be taken into consideration, including how many tissues it has colonized and how it has affected the host's immune system.

B. Burgdorferi is different from most other bacteria in that it does not have clear virulence factors like the secretion of toxins but rather evades the host’s immune system and takes advantage of it. The immune system responds to the bacteria through inflammation, which results in the disease. On top of this, B. Burgdoferi also binds to H factors, which allow the bacteria to evade lysis. This in turn also reduces the efficacy of the host’s immune system.

For that reason, it is difficult to determine how virulent Lyme disease is and if its virulence has changed over time. However, it has been found that there have been other changes over time, including an increase in the number of plasmids, their size, and gene order. The consequences of this, however, have been unclear. As science and technology evolve, we hope to learn more about Lyme disease and its virulence.

Ante, Vanessa M., et al. “The Borrelia Burgdorferi Adenylate Cyclase, CyaB, Is Important for Virulence Factor Production and Mammalian Infection.” Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 12, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.676192.

Coburn, Jenifer, et al. “Lyme Disease Pathogenesis.” Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 2022, pp. 473–518., https://doi.org/10.21775/cimb.042.473.

Tilly, Kit, et al. “Biology of Infection with Borrelia Burgdorferi.” Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, vol. 22, no. 2, 2008, pp. 217–234., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2007.12.013.

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“Modified Stem Cell Treatment for Lyme Disease & Cvid.” Regeneration Center, https://stemcellthailand.org/therapies/lyme-disease-cvid/. 

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Lyme disease was originally discovered in the 1970s; however, treatment did not begin till the early 1980s. In 1981, a scientist named Willy Burgdorfer discovered that Lyme disease was caused by a spirochete bacterium carried by ticks, and this was when the medical community started treating the disease with numerous different antibiotics.

Antibiotics were shown to be effective in curing Lyme disease; however, a small population of patients required other treatment for ongoing symptoms. It was recently found that stem cell therapy works efficiently to treat these cases of Lyme disease, especially those who have something known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Pain management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and physical therapy have also been used to treat symptoms of the disease that may not have been cured by the antibiotics.

Seeing as the discovery of Lyme disease is fairly well known, there have not been many new technologies applied to the disease other than stem cell therapy, which is also in its early clinical trials. However, in 2019, artificial intelligence was released that could track the signs and symptoms of a patient with Lyme disease while also analyzing and forecasting any possible outbreaks.

(ASH), Assistant Secretary for Health. “Lyme Innovation: Real-World Impact.” HHS.gov, 20 Oct. 2022, https://www.hhs.gov/ash/osm/innovationx/lyme-innovation/real-world-impact/index.html#:~:text=Presentations%20highlighted%20Lyme%20Innovation's,for%20timely%2C%20effective%20tick%20tracking.

“History of Lyme Disease.” Bay Area Lyme Foundation, 9 May 2022, https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/history-lyme-disease/.

Louis A. Cona, MD. “Stem Cell Therapy: Lyme Disease Breakthrough in 2023?” RSS, 2 Mar. 2023, https://www.dvcstem.com/post/stem-cell-therapy-for-lyme-disease#:~:text=Early%20clinical%20trials%20have%20shown,Lyme%20disease%20syndrome%20(PTLDS).

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Glick, Molly. “Chronic Lyme Disease Is a Rare, but Serious Condition - Here's How to Know If You Have It.” Business Insider, 21 Aug. 2020, https://www.businessi

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Lyme disease is a major concern as it is one of the most common vector-borne diseases present in the United States. One way the CDC has handled the disease is by developing more efficient insect repellents. Researchers at the CDC found that a compounding grapefruit called nootkatone, different herbs, and Alaska yellow cedar trees can kill and repel ticks and insects. Using this information, they developed a product that can combat borreolosis-infected ticks. Another way the CDC has handled the disease is by testing different types of material for clothing. They found that treated fabric is highly effective against ticks and reduces their activity. Lastly, the CDC has developed different educational classes and materials to inform the public on how to prevent tick bites and avoid being infected by Lyme disease.

In 2021, Dr. Kim Lewis at Northeastern University took the initiative to combat the spread of Lyme disease and find a treatment for it. She wanted to find a way to kill Borreolosis while also keeping the other bacteria alive. Kim and her team found that an antibiotic named Hygromycin A worked against B. Burgdoferi by "blocking the cellular machinery" that made its proteins while leaving the other bacteria alone. In just five days, the antibiotic cleared the infection.

There is not much leadership can do better in response to this disease, as it is one that is constantly being researched due to its high prevalence in the United States. However, there has not been much research done on post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Patients who experience post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome have symptoms such as fatigue, pain, and confusion. There have been no treatments for PTLDS as of yet, and leadership can work towards finding a treatment as this syndrome is very painful.

“Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 Jan. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/postlds/index.html.

“A Targeted Antibiotic for Treating Lyme Disease.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 9 Nov. 2021, https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/targeted-antibiotic-treating-lyme-disease#:~:text=Researchers%20found%20that%20a%20neglected,mice%20without%20disrupting%20the%20microbiome.

“Why Is CDC Concerned about Lyme Disease?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Jan. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/why-is-cdc-concerned-about-lyme-disease.html.