A Brief Description of Lyme Disease and its Epidemiology

Lyme Disease
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Lyme Disease
A Brief Description of Lyme disease
Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne infection in Europe and North America, and is also endemic in many areas in Asia. The disease is caused by the different genospecies of the spirochaete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, it is zoonotic (Marques, 2008). It was first reported in the town of Old Lyme ,Connecticut, in 1975. It’s the most common tick-borne illness in Europe and the Pacific Northwest ,  and  Upper Midwest regions of the United States (Marques, 2008). People who live or spend most of their time in the wooded areas are most likely to get this illness. People with domesticated animals that are not isolated from the rest (free range) domesticated animals are also at risk of getting this disease. Tick being the host of the pathogenic bacteria of this disease also can suck human blood without being noticed thus making it hard to be realized on human skin (Marques, 2008). This exposes herdsmen and thus the general population to transmission. The main reason for choosing this disease is that its zoonotic, affects both human beings and animals and  we(humans) are in direct contacts with these animals whether domesticated or wild in our daily/immediate environment. My major objective on the disease is to promote good  practices to reduce/eradicate this bacteria
Type of Lyme diseases
It is a zoonotic disease , transmitted through black-legged tick. The spirochaete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the causative agent of Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne infection in the northern hemisphere (Migrans, 2011). There is a long-standing debate regarding the role of pleomorphic forms in Lyme disease pathogenesis, while very little is known about the characteristics of these morphological variants. Interestingly, human serum induced the bacterium to change its morphology to round bodies (RBs). In addition, biofilm-like colonies in suspension were found to be part of B. burgdorferi’s normal in vitro growth (Migrans, 2011). Further studies provided evidence that spherical RBs had an intact and flexible cell envelope, demonstrating that they are not cell wall deficient, or degenerative as previously implied.
 However, the RBs displayed lower metabolic activity compared with spirochaetes. Furthermore, our results indicated that the different pleomorphic variants were distinguishable by having unique biochemical signatures. Consequently, pleomorphic B. burgdorferishould be taken into consideration as being clinically relevant and influence the developmB. burgdorferi sensu lato is pleomorphic, being able to change its morphology as a response to environmental conditions (Bratton et al., 2008). The existence of pleomorphic among many bacterial species in vitro has been known for over years relevant in diagnosis procedures.
While Lyme disease isn't genetic, you can inherit genes that make it more likely that you'll experience symptoms that are more severe should you contract Lyme disease (Bratton et al., 2008). The greatest genetic association for Lyme disease is thought to be in certain variants of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. MHC is located on the short arm of chromosome 6. It includes class I, II, and III MHC genes, each of which affect the immune system disease (Bratton et al., 2008). Class II genes play a role in generating antigen-specific T cell response.Continued research is being done on the link between genes and Lyme disease.
ELISA is used to detect antibodies against B. burgdorferi, Western blot can be used to confirm a positive ELISA test. It checks for the presence of antibodies to specific B. burgdorferi proteins disease (Bratton et al., 2008).
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to evaluate people with persistent Lyme arthritis or nervous system symptoms. It is performed on joint fluid or spinal fluid.
Transmission mechanisms and risk factors of Lyme disease
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi which is transmitted by black-legged tick to human beings (Cook, 2015). Humans are incidental hosts, acquiring the pathogen through tick bites.  Major agent of transmission of this disease is tick, man to man transmission is through contaminated foods and water and also contaminated grazing yards. There are certain risk factors that exposure persons to ticks thus, so potential to contract Lyme disease. Being a hunter, having pets, living in a rural area, living in, working in, or traveling to one of the tick hotspots in the United States (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, or North-Central states) and spending time in wooded or grassy areas (Larsen, MacDonald & Plantinga, 2014).
Methods of prevention, infection control, clinical treatments and treatment outcomes of Lyme Disease
There are several methods that are used to treat Lyme disease. Cases in their early stages are treated using antibiotics. Lyme patients normally take doxycycline for a period lasting between 10days to three weeks. They can also take cefuroxime and  amoxicillin for 2 to 3 weeks (Cameron, Johnson & Maloney, 2014). The antibiotics work well for a number of cases. In case the antibiotic does not work, patients have the option of using other antibiotics intravenously or by mouth. However, oral antibiotics are recommended for the early cases. Oral antibiotics are also recommended when a patient shows symptoms such as abnormal heart rhythm and facial palsy (Cameron, Johnson & Maloney, 2014). For any person with menegnitis, intravenous antibiotics are recommended. The same is recommended for people with severe heart problems, spinal cord issues, inflammation in the brain etc. For cases in their later stages, they can be given intravenous or oral antibiotics. Any patient with a lingering anthritis would receive standard treatment for arthritis. Post Lyme diseases syndrome does not have any treatment. Therefore, any person that does not get better using the antibiotics may end up not getting better forever (Cameron, Johnson & Maloney, 2014).
Instances of the Break of Lyme and how it was Controlled in my Community
In my community, we have once been affected by the outbreak of Lyme disease. We had the help of health experts who proposed using medications that are normally used to stop the spread of cholesterol to be used to stop the spread of Lyme disease in my community. Their method was supported by Van Laar et al. (2016), who argued that such cholesterol medications can help in stopping the spread of Lyme disease. The authors further argued that using statins can help to “reduce the burden in mice” and this can in turn be exploited to lower the number of bacteria that feeding ticks acquire this reducing the spread of Lyme disease. The methods that we employed were aimed at restricting the survival of Lyme bacteria from the source. It did prove to be an effective strategy. The people within the community were also encouraged to avoid those areas that had been infested by ticks as much as they could. People were also encouraged to ensure that their pets were clean and free from pets which almost everybody adhered to. Additionally, the people within the community ensured that there were no bird nests in their properties because of the fear that birds could carry ticks along. They also sprayed their clothing with insecticides to ensure that they never carried along any ticks. The people in the community also sprayed everything they could.
Past Research Work on Lyme Disease
Lyme disease has piqued the interests of many researchers today. Most of the research works have focused diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. For example Hatchette, Davis, & Johnston (2014) performed a research to the “clinical diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease”. Gasmi et al. (2017) also performed a research to determine the “Practices of Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment by general practitioners in Quebec, 2008-2015”. Another research that focused on the treatment and diagnosis on Lyme disease was by Bratton et al. (2015). As is evident, most research works have focused on diagnosis and treatment. However, other researchers have focused on misconceptions of challenges of dealing with Lyme disease. For example, Halperin (2015) carried out a research to determine the “Chronic Lyme disease: misconceptions and challenges for patient management”. Some research works how however focused on just elaborating on Lyme disease, its causes, consequences, symptoms, and treatment. The goal of these researches is just to expound on the disease and provide rea...