Lyme disease treatment information. Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted by the bite of a deer tick.
Most cases occur in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and the Pacific Coast.
Mice and deer are the most commonly infected animals that serve as host to the tick. Most infections occur in the summer. The disorder is difficult to diagnose, because the symptoms mimic other diseases. A few months after the bite, muscle paralysis, joint inflammation, neurological symptoms and sometimes heart symptoms may occur. Lyme disease is treated at Hospital for Special Surgery by experts in the Rheumatology Division as it is considered a rheumatic disease.