Lyme Disease

Lyme disease gets its name from the town of Lyme, Connecticut. The place where the illness was first identified in the United States in 1975.Lyme disease is caused by a corkscrew-shaped bacterium/spirochete, called Borrelia burgdorferi. Ticks infected with the bacterium spread the disease to humans.Lyme disease is the most common disease spread by ticks in the United States. More than 16,000 cases were reported by 45 states in 1996.