OspA L03 Group2: Difference between revisions

First recognized in 1957, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease Lyme disease] has been estimated to affect between 20 and 100 cases per 100,000 individuals in the United States <ref name=Ruprecht >PMID: 18097481</ref>. The peak infection rates of this disease occur approximately between the months of May and August in North America <ref name=Onrust>PMID: 10730551</ref>. The causative agent for this disease is a bacterial vector of [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/spirochetes.html spirochetes], called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borrelia_burgdorferi Borrelia burgdorferi], which were found in the gut of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixodes Ixodes] tick (Burgdorfer, 1982). The bacteria spread through the bite of the tick forming severe skin lesions. Other health complications include chronic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthritis arthritis], and neurologic and cardiac abnormalities (Burgdorferi, 1982). From 10-12 weeks of infestation, other symptoms like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythema_chronicum_migrans erythema chronicum migrans] begin to appear as well(Burgdorferi, 1982). Studies were first conducted through New Zealand white rabbits (Burgdorferi, 1982) through the use of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunofluorescence indirect immunofluorescence].