Pathogenesis
- Lyme disease: transmitted by the bite of a small tick of the genus lxodes
- The tick: attached for at least 24 hours: transmission of bacteria
- Mice and other small rodents: primary reservoirs for the spirochete
- Deer and other mammals: hosts for the ticks
- Lyme disease: the most common arthropod-transmitted disease in USA, at least 20,000 cases / year
- In Europe and Asia: caused by other Borrelia species, B. garinii and B. afzelii, different late-stage symptoms.