Lyme Handbook

Excerpted from The Health Protection Agency

Lyme borreliosis is an infection caused by spiral-shaped bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, which are carried by some types of ticks. These hard-bodied Ixodid ticks (sometimes known as sheep, deer, or woodland ticks) may be found in forested, heathland and moorland areas and also in suburban parklands; they are less frequently found in coniferous forests. Areas inhabited by deer are particularly suitable habitats for ticks, but not every tick infested area has a high risk of Lyme borreliosis, and most ticks do not carry the bacteria.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733812256?p=1191942172844

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Excerpted from The Lyme Disease Research DB

Borrelia Burgdorferi, Lyme bacteria

Lyme DiseaseBorrelia burgdorferi, or Bb, is the notorious bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Bb is just one of three hundred strains of spirochetes worldwide. Other strains of spirochetes cause diseases such as relapsing fever and syphilis. Bb is a spiral-shaped microscopic organism that can scoot around inside the body by rotating in place, like a corkscrew. After its host, the tick, downloads Bb into the bloodstream of a critter or a person, the spirochete can leave the blood stream and invade the tissues and organs.

http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme_disease_blog_files/borrelia-burgdorferi-bacteria.html

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What Is Lyme Disease? New Findings Deepen the Mystery (National Geographic)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140228-lyme-disease-borrelia-burgdorferi-deer-tick-science/