How do You Get Lyme Disease?

The recent growth of the deer population in the northeast and the building of suburban developments in rural areas where deer ticks are commonly found have probably contributed to the increasing number of people with the disease. The number of reported cases of Lyme disease, as well as the number of geographic areas in which it is found, has been increasing. Lyme disease has been reported in nearly all states in this country, although most cases are concentrated in the coastal northeast, Mid-Atlantic States, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and northern California.

Lyme disease is also found in large areas of Asia and Europe. Recent reports suggest that it is present in South America, too. In addition to causing arthritis, Lyme disease can also cause heart, brain, and nerve problems.

How Is Lyme Disease Transmitted? Lyme disease is transmitted through a bite from a specific type of tick. The animals that most often carry these insects are white-footed field mice, deer, raccoons, opossums, skunks, weasels, foxes, shrews, moles, chipmunks, squirrels, and horses.

The majority of these ticks have been found in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. What Are the Symptoms of Lyme Disease? In the early stages of Lyme disease, you may experience flu-like symptoms that can include a stiff neck, chills, fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, and joint pain.

You also may experience a large, expanding skin rash around the area of the tick bite. In more advanced disease, nerve problems and arthritis, especially in the knees, may occur. Erythema migrans is the telltale rash which occurs in about 70% to 80% of cases and starts as a small red spot that expands over a period of days or weeks, forming a circular, triangular, or oval-shaped rash.

Sometimes the rash resembles a bull's-eye because it appears as a red ring surrounding a central clear area.