1. Lyme Disease is caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacterium carried in certain ticks.
TRUE
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by a complex corkscrew shaped bacterium called a spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi).
2. People with Lyme disease always develop a bulls eye rash.
FALSE
Not everyone with Lyme disease gets a bull’s eye rash (Erythema Migrans). This rash sometimes begins at the site of a tick bite after a delay of 3-30 days. The rash can expand over a period of several days and its center may clear as it enlarges, resulting in a bull’s-eye appearance but it can also appear like a bruise in dark skinned people and take many other shapes and sizes. It may be warm but is not usually painful. The bull’s eye rash is a definitive symptom of Lyme disease.
3. The diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are always reliable.
FALSE
Most tests currently available are indirect detection tests (the immune system’s response to the disease), and look for antibodies to Lyme disease spirochetes, not the bacteria. A Johns Hopkins University study concluded that current tick tests are unreliable and that Lyme disease is particularly difficult to diagnose in its early stages when it is most treatable with antibiotics. The diagnosis should be a clinical one based upon signs and symptoms, tick exposure and evaluation of test results. Currently, no tests can rule out Lyme disease. A person can test negative, but still have Lyme disease.
4. Ticks prefer bright sunlight and dry open fields.
FALSE
Ticks prefer tall grass, moist, wooded or leaf littered areas.
5. Light colored clothing helps to identify ticks crawling on you.
TRUE
When outdoors whenever possible, wear light-colored clothing, so ticks are more visible to you.
6. Lyme disease can be contagious through casual contact.
FALSE
You cannot catch Lyme disease from other people as one might catch a common cold.
7. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment reduces the risk of long-term illness.
TRUE
The outcome is generally successful if an early diagnosis is identified and adequate medical treatment is received. An early diagnosis is complicated by the inaccuracy of current tests and because symptoms may appear days, weeks, months or even years after an infected tick bite. Like syphilis in the 19th century, Lyme Disease has been called the great imitator and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of rheumatologic and neurological conditions, as well as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, somatization disorder and any difficult to diagnose multi-symptom illness.
8. The longer a tick is attached, the greater the probability of transmission of the bacterium causing Lyme disease.
TRUE
Generally transmission occurs after the tick has had a full feeding and empties the contents of its midgut where the bacteria are found, into the host. Other factors may play a role in earlier transmission of the bacteria such as improper tick removal or presence of the bacteria in the saliva of the tick. |
