Preventing Lyme Disease

摘要

As we saw in the first article, food poisoning and accidental injuries are major risks in the U.S. These major risks are followed by pesticide exposures and Lyme disease. The number of Lyme disease cases has been growing steadily. Reported cases increased by 70% between 1992 and 1998, and between 1998 and 2010 the number of cases doubled. About 30,000 cases a year are now being reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the jiumber of actual cases may be 7-12 times this number. By any measure, Lyme disease is the most abundant vector-borne disease in the U.S. (CDC 201 la; Orloski et al. 2000). Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete called Borrelia burgdoiferii. Spirochetes are corkscrew shaped bacteria that cause a number of diseases including relapsing fever, leptospirosis, syphilis, and others. Lyme disease, like syphilis, can cause longterm chronic problems involving the nervous system (Sonenshine 1993; Burgdorfer 1993).