Lyme Disease
Authors: Linden T. Hu
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2012)

In the Clinic7 August 2012Lyme DiseaseLinden T. Hu, MD, Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Darren Taichman, MD, PhD, and Sankey Williams, MDLinden T. Hu, MD, Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Darren Taichman, MD, PhD, and Sankey Williams, MDAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-157-3-201208070-01002 SectionsSupplemental MaterialAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Editor's Note: This issue of In the Clinic has been updated.Today, Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the US, with over 22 500 confirmed cases in 2010. Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochete, is transmitted by the bite of infected Ixodes ticks. These ticks have a 3-stage lifecycle (larvae, nymph, and adult) and take 1 blood meal at each stage. They become infected by feeding on an infected wild animal—typically white-footed mice, voles, chipmunks, or birds—during the larval feeding. 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