Lyme disease is a continually growing global problem

The facts:

• Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States.  Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.¹
• Cases of Lyme disease have almost tripled since the 1990s to over 300,000 annually² and have been found in all 50 states.³
• More than 360,000 cases reported in Europe over the last two decades.⁴
• 3.4 million Lyme disease tests are performed in the U.S. each year.⁵
• Lyme disease can mimic the symptoms of fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and over 350 other conditions⁶ making definitive diagnosis a challenge.
• Untreated Lyme disease can cause: Chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), particularly of the knee, neurological symptoms, such as facial palsy and neuropathy, cognitive defects, such as impaired memory and heart rhythm irregularities.⁷

Stage

Symptoms

Stage 1: Early Localized

• Erythema migrans (expanding rash)
• Virus-like illness (e.g., fatigue, malaise, fever, chills, myalgia, headache)

Stage 2: Early disseminated

• Cardiac (e.g. atrioventricular block)
• Dermatological (e.g., multiple erythema migrans lesions)
• Musculoskeletal (e.g., athralgia, myalgia)
• Neurologic (e.g., lymphocytic meningitis, facial nerve palsy, encephalitis)

Stage 3: Late

• Arthritis (e.g., monoarticular, oligoarticular)
• Neurologic symptoms (e.g., encephalomyelitis, peripheral neuropathy)