Borrelia is found in mammal blood upon infection and is transmitted by the
tick "spitome" or saliva. The spirochete is transferred when the tick feeds on a
desirable host. Roughly 17,000 infections are reported in the United States each
year. The illness often goes unreported and the real numbers may be ten-fold
higher.
The wood or black-legged deer tick (Ixodes rinicus) has been identified as the
key to the disease's spread. This condition had been described in medical
literature dating back to the early twentieth century but little to no research
had been done until Lyme Disease was reintroduced to the medical field in the
late 1970's.
The number of cases, as well as endemic regions in the United States, have been
increasing. Lyme disease is reported in nearly every state in the U.S. There are
concentrated areas in the northeast, mid-Atlantic states, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and northern California. Lyme disease is endemic to Europe and Asia.
Lyme disease has been proven to be congenitally passed from an infected mother
to fetus through the placenta during pregnancy. There is some anecdotal, largely
unconfirmed evidence of sexual transmission.
It is not necessary that the tick be attached for 24 hours or longer in order
for disease transmission to occur; however, the longer the duration of tick
attachment, the greater the risk of disease transmission. However, even short
term attachment can result in transmission of the disease. Also improper tick
removal can result in early disease transmission so it is very important to
remove a tick properly.
An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign
species. An infection is, in effect, a war in which the infecting organism seeks
to utilize the host's resources in order to multiply at the expense of the host.
The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning and
perhaps the survival of the host. Colloquially, a pathogen is usually considered
a microscopic organism though the definition is broader, including bacteria,
parasites, fungi, viruses, prions, and viroids. The branch of medicine that
focuses on infections and pathogens is Infectious Disease.
All multicellular organisms are colonized to some degree by extrinsic organisms,
and the vast majority of these exist in either a symbiotic or commensal
relationship with the host. An example of the former would be the anaerobic
bacteria species which colonize the mammalian colon, an example of the latter
would be the various species of staphylococcus which exist on human skin.
Neither of these colonizations would be considered infections. The difference
between an infection and a colonization is often only a matter of circumstance.
Organisms which are normally non-pathogenic can become pathogenic under the
right conditions, and even the most virulent organism requires certain
circumstances to cause a compromising infection.
The variables involved in the outcome of a host becoming inoculated by a
pathogen and the ultimate outcome include:
* the route of entry of the pathogen and the access to host regions that it
gains
* the intrinsic virulence of the particular organism
* the quantity or load of the initial inoculant
* the immune status of the host being colonized
As an example, the staphylococcus species present on skin remain harmless on the
skin, but, when present in a normally sterile space, such as in the capsule of a
joint or the peritoneum, will multiply without resistance and create a huge
burden on the host.
Morgellons Research Foundation Com