Lyme Disease

Take the Lyme Disease Quiz 31k587 Lyme Disease Slideshow Pictures Bad Bugs Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

John Meyerhoff, MD

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

View Full Profile

• Lyme Disease Overview
• Lyme Disease Causes
• Lyme Disease Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Questions to Ask the Doctor
• Exams and Tests
• Lyme Disease Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medications
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• Multimedia
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Author and Editor
• Take the Lyme Disease Quiz
• Pictures of Lyme Disease - Slideshow
• Pictures of Bad Bugs - Slideshow
• Read more on Lyme Disease from Healthwise
• Viewer Comments: Lyme Disease - How Was Diagnosis Established
• Viewer Comments: Lyme Disease - Symptoms

Lyme Disease Overview

Lyme disease, sometimes referred to as Lyme infection, is a bacterial illness, transmitted to humans by the bite of deer ticks (Ixodes ticks) carrying a bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease has been reported in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, North Central, and Pacific coastal regions of the United States (see map) and in Europe, where it was first described almost 100 years ago. It is most prevalent in the northeastern states of the United States, with about half of all cases clustered in New York and Connecticut.

Doctors at New Haven's Yale Medical Center first described and named Lyme disease in the United States in the late 1970s. An unexpected number of residents in Lyme, Connecticut, were found to have a "new" and unusual illness.

• Fortunately, less than 5% of tick bites in high-contact areas result in Lyme infections.



• Doctors have learned a great deal about the illness since that original cluster of people was observed. Treatments are available for Lyme disease.