Borrelia Burgdorferi Essay -- Medical Health Biology Essays

Borrelia Burgdorferi Life History: Lyme disease is an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochete that is found in deer ticks of genus Ixodes. Lyme disease was named in 1977 after arthritis was observed in clusters in children in Lyme, Connecticut. An infected tick can transmit B. burgdorferi to the humans and animals that it bites. If left untreated, the B. burgdorferi can cause a systemic infection by traveling through the bloodstream and establishing itself in various body tissues. Lyme disease is most prevalently found in north-eastern United States. Microbial Characteristics and Virulence: Borrelia burgdorferi is not classified as either Gram-positive or Gram-negative. When B. burgdorferi is Gram-stained, the cells stain a weak Gram-negative by default, as safrin is the last dye used. B. burgdorferi has an outer membrane that contains an LPS-like substance, an inner membrane, and a periplasmic space which contains a layer of peptidoglycan. They have endoflagella which are contained within the periplasmic space. It can be cultivated on a modified Kelly medium called BSK (Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly). BSK solidified with 1.3% agarose allows the production of colonies from single organisms. The spirochete grows more slowly than most other bacteria dividing once after 12-24 hours. B. burgdorferi resembles other spirochetes in that it is a highly specialized, motile, two-membrane, spiral-shaped bacteria which lives primarily as an extracellular pathogen. One of the most striking features of B. burgdorferi as compared with other eubacteria is its unusual genome, which includes a linear chromosome approximately one megabase in size and numerous linear and circular plasmids. Long-term culture of B. burgdorferi re... ..., Pennsylvania, Delaware Maryland, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. Lyme disease accounts for approximately 16,000 infections in the United States per year. Since 1982 there have been over 145,000 cases reported to health authorities in the US. Lyme disease accounts for 95% of vector borne illness and the incidence rate is 5 per 100,000 although this number may be less than true cases due to underreporting. People of all ages and both genders are equally susceptible, although highest attack rates are in children ages 0-14 years and in persons 30 years of age or older. Sources Cited: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm http://www.aldf.com/Lyme.asp#PARA1 http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/bburgdorferi.htm http://www.aldf.com/Lyme_TreatmentTable.html http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/epi.htm http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic588.htm