BORELIA

BORRELIA BURGDORFERI

Known as : BORRELIA

About: Bacteria transmitted by a tick 

Microscope: Corkscrew shaped long and thin hard to detect and which form cysts when it becomes dormant

What can it do: Borrelia is the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, which starts off as a skin sore, red with a white centre around the area of the tick bite.  This can show a few days and up to a month after a person is bitten by an infected tick. Some scientists believe that even after treated with antibiotics, Lyme disease stays in the body throughout a persons life and can cause recurring symptoms.

Help: Borrelia should be treated by a doctor. Being aware if you have  been bitten by a tick is an important clue for a doctor and should always be reported.

Infectious rating: Borrelia, infects the blood and tissues of infected birds and mammals and is then transferred by a tick who feeds on the blood of the infected species and then bites/feeds on another species such as a dog or human.

I feel sick: Lyme disease can cause symptoms that are a bit like flu, such as fatigue, tiredness or drowsiness, headaches, mild fever, joint and muscle pains and swollen lymph glands. If it is not treated with antibiotics, Lyme disease may hide away in the body only to resurface later with much more symptoms.

Skin symptoms: Red sore around the tick bite which may increase in size up to around 20-30 cm.  Often called the bullseye rash as it is red with a white central area.

Rest of the body: In neuro Borrelia, the symptoms are found in the central nervous system and may cause numbness, weakness, facial palsy and other serious neurological symptoms. Neuro Borrelia demands immediate hospitalisation and specialist care as if not treated, symptoms may lead to fatal consequences for the heart, and neurological system.

GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS

The commonest form of Lyme disease in the UK is called Neuro Borrelia.  In the USA lyme disease is the commonest form of tick borne disease but the disease is found all around the world.