Changes

==Description==

==Description==

[[File:Borreliose.png|thumb|Map of the areas where ''Borrelia spp'' are endemic<br><small>Copyright Percherie 2006 Wikimedia Commons]]</small>

[[File:Borreliose.png|thumb|Map of the areas where ''Borrelia spp'' are endemic<br><small>Copyright Percherie 2006 Wikimedia Commons]]</small>

Lyme disease descibes the clinical syndrome caused by infection with ''[[Borrelia burgdorferi]]'' sensu lato in humans, dogs, horses, cattle and sheep.  The disease is named after the town of[http://townlyme.org/ Lyme] in Connecticut, USA where clinical cases were first described in humans in 1975.  Since its identification, analysis of historical samples of ticks has shown that ''B. burgdorferi'' has been present in Europe and North America since at least the start of the twentieth Century<ref>Marshall WF 3rd, Telford SR 3rd, Rys PN, Rutledge BJ, Mathiesen D, Malawista SE, Spielman A, Persing DH. '''Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in museum specimens of Peromyscus leucopus.''' ''J Infect Dis. 1994 Oct;170(4):1027-32.''</ref><ref>Hubbard MJ, Baker AS, Cann KJ. '''Distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. spirochaete DNA in British ticks (Argasidae and Ixodidae) since the 19th century, assessed by PCR.''' ''Med Vet Entomol. 1998 Jan;12(1):89-97.''</ref>.  Currently, the bacterium is known to be present in Europe, Asia and North America (see image) and the prevalence of antibodies to ''B. burgdorferi'' sensu lato in French dogs was 1.09% when this was investigated in 2009<ref>Pantchev N, Schaper R, Limousin S, Norden N, Weise M, Lorentzen L. '''Occurrence of Dirofilaria immitis and tick-borne infections caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Ehrlichia canis in domestic dogs in France: results of a countrywide serologic survey.''' ''Parasitol Res. 2009 Aug;105 Suppl 1:S101-14.''</ref>.

Lyme disease descibes the clinical syndrome caused by infection with ''[[Borrelia burgdorferi]]'' sensu lato in humans, dogs, horses, cattle and sheep.  The disease is named after the town of [http://townlyme.org/ Lyme] in Connecticut, USA where clinical cases were first described in humans in 1975.  Since its identification, analysis of historical samples of ticks has shown that ''B. burgdorferi'' has been present in Europe and North America since at least the start of the twentieth Century<ref>Marshall WF 3rd, Telford SR 3rd, Rys PN, Rutledge BJ, Mathiesen D, Malawista SE, Spielman A, Persing DH. '''Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in museum specimens of Peromyscus leucopus.''' ''J Infect Dis. 1994 Oct;170(4):1027-32.''</ref><ref>Hubbard MJ, Baker AS, Cann KJ. '''Distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. spirochaete DNA in British ticks (Argasidae and Ixodidae) since the 19th century, assessed by PCR.''' ''Med Vet Entomol. 1998 Jan;12(1):89-97.''</ref>.  Currently, the bacterium is known to be present in Europe, Asia and North America (see image) and the prevalence of antibodies to ''B. burgdorferi'' sensu lato in French dogs was 1.09% when this was investigated in 2009<ref>Pantchev N, Schaper R, Limousin S, Norden N, Weise M, Lorentzen L. '''Occurrence of Dirofilaria immitis and tick-borne infections caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Ehrlichia canis in domestic dogs in France: results of a countrywide serologic survey.''' ''Parasitol Res. 2009 Aug;105 Suppl 1:S101-14.''</ref>.

The bacterium is transmitted by ticks of which the most common is ''[[Ixodes spp.|Ixodes ricinus]]'' in the UK.  ''I. ricinus'' is a three host tick that acquires ''B. burgdorferi'' bacteria when it obtains a blood meal from small rodents as a larva and then transmits it to large mammals as a nymph or adult, demonstrating trans-stadial transmission.  Lyme disease therefore occurs when domestic animals and humans enter areas of tick habitat and ticks must be attached for at least 48 hours for the organisms to multiply and transfer to the mammalian host.

The bacterium is transmitted by ticks of which the most common is ''[[Ixodes spp.|Ixodes ricinus]]'' in the UK.  ''I. ricinus'' is a three host tick that acquires ''B. burgdorferi'' bacteria when it obtains a blood meal from small rodents as a larva and then transmits it to large mammals as a nymph or adult, demonstrating trans-stadial transmission.  Lyme disease therefore occurs when domestic animals and humans enter areas of tick habitat and ticks must be attached for at least 48 hours for the organisms to multiply and transfer to the mammalian host.