Infectious Diseases Lyme Disease

Recognizing Lyme Disease

Summary & Participants

Public awareness about Lyme disease has heightened in recent years and people in high-risk areas know to look for the telltale bull's-eye rash. But what do you really know about the disease and how do you recognize its symptoms? Join our panel of experts as they discuss the causes and warning signs of this important health problem.

Medically Reviewed On: May 07, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Welcome to our webcast. I'm David Folk Thomas. Since it was discovered in 1975 after a mysterious outbreak of arthritis in Old Lyme Town, Connecticut, Lyme disease has become a household name. Thousands of new cases are diagnosed every year, and those numbers continue to rise. Now, most folks in the northeast know that it's spread by deer ticks, but what exactly is Lyme disease and how do you know if you have it?

We're going to try to answer all those questions. Joining me to help shed some light, on my left, Dr. Alex McMeeking. He is an assistant professor of medicine at NYU Medical Center. Next to Alex is Dr. Brent Wise. He's a clinical instructor of medicine, also at NYU Medical Center here in New York City. Gentlemen, thanks for joining me.

Alex, let me start right off the bat with you. What is Lyme disease?

ALEX McMEEKING, MD: Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that's spread by a type of bacteria called a spirochete. The particular name of this one is called Borrelia burgdorferi. It's a big, long name. It's spread through the bites of a particular type of tick called the deer tick. It's very common, particularly in this part of the country. In most cases --

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Could a deer tick be on a dog?

ALEX McMEEKING, MD: Absolutely, absolutely. Though it's called a deer tick, it can be on any animal with fur -- mice, domestic pets commonly bring it into the house if you have a country home, for example, things of that nature, and it can certainly crawl from the dog or the cat, if it's an outdoor cat, and settle on the person. It likes to, unfortunately, drink your blood, and by doing that it can spread this bacteria, which lives in the tick's intestinal tract, into your bloodstream and cause a Lyme infection.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Now before we go too much further, I believe we have some pictures of a few ticks, and if you could talk about them right here, Alex. Which one of those is the one you've got to look out for?

ALEX McMEEKING, MD: The tiniest one to the right is called the larval form. The second one is called the nymph form -- this is the second one from the right -- that's the classic one that spreads most of the infections. It's about the size of a sesame seed on a bagel, so it's tiny, tiny, tiny. Most people can't really feel it when it's on your skin. It also has the capability of biting you and releasing a chemical which acts almost as an anesthetic, so most people don't even feel the bite. Probably over 50% of the people who get Lyme disease have no history that they're aware of of having had a tick bite.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Now, Brian, when somebody gets bitten by one of these ticks, what should they do? How do they know if they're at risk for Lyme disease?

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