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Lyme Disease Awareness Month
May 2012  

   Know Ticks, No Lyme

Governor's Proclamation

K-8 Poster Contest Winners

Caroline Dishop

Sophie O'Clair

Chantel Gayton

Cassidy Osgood

Audio Contest Winners

Aidan Shadis

  

Liam Dworkin

 Lyrics

Luke Huntington

 Word

Michael LaCrosse

  

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to a person through the bite of an infected deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). Symptoms of Lyme disease include the formation of a characteristic expanding rash (erythema migrans, EM) 3-30 days after a tick bite. This rash occurs in approximately 70- 80%1 of patients nationally.   In Maine, EM is reported in just over 50% of patients, and Maine CDC feels that this number is lower than the actual occurrence.  Fever, headache, joint and muscle pains, and fatigue are also common during the first several weeks. Later features of Lyme disease can include arthritis in one or more joints (often the knee), Bell's palsy and other cranial nerve palsies, meningitis, and carditis (AV block). Lyme disease is rarely, if ever, fatal.

  1. The Presenting Manifestations of Lyme Disease and the Outcomes of Treatment. N Engl J Med 2003; 348:2472-2474, June 12, 2003.

History of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease gets its name from a small coastal town in Connecticut called Lyme. In 1975, a woman brought to the attention of Yale researchers an unusual cluster of more than 51 cases of mostly pediatric arthritis. In 1977, Dr. Allen Steere and Yale colleagues identified and named the 51 clusters “Lyme arthritis." In 1979, the name was changed to "Lyme disease," when Steere and colleague Dr. Steven Malawista discovered additional symptoms linked to the disease such as possible neurological problems and severe fatigue. In 1982 the cause of the disease was discovered by Dr. Willy Burgdorfer. Dr. Burgdorfer published a paper on the infectious agent of Lyme disease and earned the right to have his name placed on the Lyme disease spirochete now known as Borrelia burgdorferi.

Resources for Maine Residents

Resources for Educators:

Educational materials have been provided for a pilot tick education program for school nurses and 5th grade teachers. The program is called "Ticks: Know Your Enemy". Materials were assembled by the Maine Vector-borne Disease Working Group, Youth Education Subcommittee. These materials are also available to the general public.

Resources for Physicians

Lyme Disease Data

Reports and Publications

Other Vector-borne Diseases

External Links