How is Lyme disease spread?

 

Lyme disease is an illness caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. In Connecticut, these bacteria are spread through the bite of infected Ixodes scapularis (black-legged or deer) ticks. When in its nymphal stage, the ticks are about the size of a poppy seed or the period at the end of this sentence, and are very difficult to see. Not all I. scapularis ticks are infected. Tick infection rates range between 10%-35% in Connecticut. Ticks get the bacteria from white-footed mice, other rodents and some birds. Deer serve only as a meal for adult ticks.

 

 

Ticks are found in grassy and overgrown areas where they wait to grasp onto warm bodies that pass by; they do not jump, fly or drop out of trees. Ticks are generally picked up on the lower legs and crawl up the body to find a feeding spot. The bite of a tick is usually painless, and because of this people are unaware they have been bitten. Statistics show that most people become infected during the months of May-July when nymphs are searching for a meal. Nymphal and adult female ticks need to feed for more than 24 hours before the bacteria are transmitted and infection can occur. Infected un-engorged (flat) ticks do not transmit the bacteria.

 

 

 

For additional information on the tick life cycle, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.