The second kind, the study suggests, would be based on surface proteins that are common to all the bacteria entering the host. The challenge is to discover which of the 150 surface proteins are present in all the bacteria. If they all came in looking the same, the host could control the infection. Although the current vaccine has been reported to protect between 75 percent and 80 percent of people in clinical trials, its long-term efficacy has not been proven. The results of the study are reported in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Some people experience body pain, aching joints and headaches.
Left untreated, it can result in chronic joint pain and other ailments of the skin, joint and nervous systems. As a result, it's extremely important to do daily tick checks, and to remove them promptly and properly. If you're in areas with high tick populations, which include the Northeast and north central states for the deer tick and the Western states for the mouse ticks, apply a repellent containing DEET before venturing outside. Read up on Lyme disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Learn to spot Lyme disease with these pictures of ticks and rashes .