Deer Tick Treatable A. Lyme Disease is a tick-borne bacterial disease that was first conclusively identified in 1975 and is named for the town in Connecticut, U.S., in which it was first observed. The disease has been identified in every region of the United States and in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The spirochete is transmitted to the human bloodstream by the bite of various species of ticks.
Ticks pick up the spirochete by sucking the blood of deer or other already-infected animals.
The larval and nymphal stages of this tick are more likely to bite humans than are the adult and are hence more likely to cause human cases of the disease. In humans the disease progresses in three stages. The first and mildest stage is characterized by a circular rash in a bull's-eye pattern that appears anywhere from a few days to a month after the tick bite. The rash is often accompanied by such flu-like symptoms as headaches, fatigue, chills, loss of appetite, fever, and aching joints or muscles. The majority of persons who contract Lyme disease experience only these first-stage symptoms, and never become seriously ill.