Vector-borne illness of stealth: The current state of Lyme disease diagnostics, treatment and research

摘要

Lyme?disease?was?first?described?in?the?United?States?in?1975,?after?two?concerned?mothers?in?Old?Lyme,Connecticut,?reached?out?to?rheumatologists?at?Yale?University?regarding?an?influx?of?pediatric?arthritis?in?theircommunity.?A?surveillance?study?in?1976?led?to?the?realization?of?a?connection?between?the?deer?tick?population,east?of?the?Connecticut?River,?and?the?development?of?the?telltale?erythema?migrans?rash.?In?1978,?the?vector?tickcarrier?was?confirmed,?and?thus,?the?mystery?of?the?development?of?Lyme?disease?was?uncovered.?However,?Lymedisease?continues?to?pose?a?conundrum?to?providers,?patients?and?researchers.?As?the?most?widely?reportedvector-borne?illness?in?the?U.S.,?Lyme?disease?presents?an?opportunity?for?education?and?improvement?in?promptdiagnosis?and?treatment.