Lyme+Disease

In 1975, the Northeast region of the United States was still reeling from the suburban boom in the '50s. Urbanization and deforestation were crippling the previously stable and rich forests of the East Coast–– and Lyme, Connecticut was at the heart of it all. Forests once filled with trees were razed to make room for the suburban dream, and while forest animals left for another home, whole families moved to the new neighborhoods.

Lyme disease emerged from these changes. A vector-borne illness most commonly found in the United States, it flourished with the augmentation of residential development. It wasn't properly identified until children throughout Lyme, Connecticut began developing symptoms resembling premature rheumatoid arthritis. Health officials were perplexed: why should a disease so rare suddenly be cropping up everywhere? Taking blood samples, they found the culprit: //Borrelia burgdorferi//, bacteria normally prevalent in forest creatures that had found its way into the human population. Several years later, they found the vector from animals to humans: ticks. A population explosion among ticks had caused an outbreak in a non-contagious pathogen.

Since that first outbreak in Lyme, Connecticut, the problem's been getting worse. Reported cases have been rising (over 35,000 in 2009), and the affected area is spreading as suburban areas expand. Luckily, Lyme disease is only rarely fatal, and current treatments do work, though it can be painful and dangerous if left untreated for a substantial period of time.

The following charts and tables display the statistics of Lyme disease by each year.

Structure - Lyme Disease Transmission - Lyme Disease Symptoms & Disease Progression - Lyme Disease Pathogenesis - Lyme Disease Treatment & Response - Lyme Disease Contributing Factors - Lyme Disease Citations - Lyme Disease

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