The rash that is sometimes produced is your body's first defense against the invasion. In the unlucky, the immune system fails to eliminate all the spirochetes that enter the bloodstream. Typically, pains migrate from one joint to another and can be intense, only to disappear, leaving a person with the disease pain-free for weeks before a recurrence. But in severe cases, Lyme disease is sometimes crippling, owing to what some think is an antoimmune response to the presence of spirochetes in a joint. Buried in the muscles of the heart, Lyme spirochetes produce an inflammation that swells cell fluid and weakens the strength of heart contractions.
Deaths are rare, but have been recorded.
In the brain, spirochetes also lead to swelling that may interfere with nerve signals to the body. Although rare, permanent brain damage resembling a stroke can be experienced. Two Lyme vaccines are undergoing clinical trails. Preliminary results indicate that they will, at most, offer an efficacy rate of about 80 percent. Used with permission.