Definition

Described since the end of the 18^th century in Germany under the original name of Atrophying Chronical Acrodermatitis, this disease remained very rare until 1975, in America.

That year, in the town of LYME (Connecticut) and in surrounding towns, there were a brutal increase of Human Inflammatory Arthritis.

Ticks responsibility was quickly identifed as vector. There were to wait until 1982 to identify the transmitted agent: Borrelia burgdorferi. It is a Spirochete (family of thin, long, spring shaped bacterias having numerous flagellums).

Since, this bacteria conquered the whole North Hemisphere and some 'close cousins' are found (B. garini, B. afzlii, B. japonica, this list still increases), all being as dangerous as the first, and able to cohabit within the same patient.

The vector

The bacteria comes into victims bodies through the tick saliva.
Ticks are Acarids, that is to say of the same family as spiders, scorpios and, as them, they wear 8 legs (insects have only 6).
Involved ticks species vary according to the geographic zone:

• Europa: Ixodes ricinus.
• Asia (temperate and cold, of which a wide part of the ex-USSR): Ixodes persulcatus.
• United States (Center, North and East): Ixodes scapularis (=Ixodes dammini).
• United States (South): Ixodes pacificus. (California = About 5 % of the US cases.)

The probability the bacteria comes to us by plane is thus strong. The vector is already there.

Cats and dogs, as humans, may be bitten by a tick.

Syndroma

Incubation:

From 2 days to a month.

Phasis 1

Migrant erythema: The bited zone enlarges in a ring-shape (the center becomes normal again), in general without causing pain. From there comes the name: In greek, erythros = red, and migrant because the red area moves and changes its shape.
There are cases where the center remains red, others where the skin peels, others where the red area is very wide, and others where nothing is visible.

After, all seems to be resorbed all alone.

Phasis 2

The disease may break out days or years later. It is quite polymorphic:

In addition to temporary fever access, general weakness and a dizzy sensation ('as if 'got the flu'), are randomly found:

• Multiple red blotches all over the body (migrant erythemas) (but not the inside of hands and feet)
• Cardiac malfunctions:
  • Conduction disorders (heart ventricles and auricles desynchronization)
  • Pericarditis (heart covering membrane diseases)
  • Myocarditis (diseases of the muscle itself)
• Nervous malfunctions (general case):
  • Headaches, meningitis
  • Photophobia (= light hypersensitivity)
  • Conjonctivitis and other ocular diseases, cecity (= blindness) included
  • Local insensitivities and paralysis
  • Light mental confusion

Phasis 3

Attacks become chronical, irreversible or hard to recover.
The polymorphic aspect of the disease is wide:

• Dermatitis (skin disorders):
  • Atrophying Chronical Acrodermatitis = Pick-Herxheimer disease: The erythema extends and an other appears symetrically on the other side of the body, inside the red blotch the flesh seems to dissolve under the skin, lefting only veins.
  • Mild Cutaneous Lymphocytoma : The erythema becomes thicker as a tiny tumor (ball of 1 to 2 cm) violaceous (not cancerous), positionned on the face, the ear lobe or on the chest.
• Arthritis (general case: Swollen joints and more or less painful): They are very long to recover, if they do. The first name given to the disease was 'Lyme Arthritis' because it is often the only sign of the disease.
• Other attacks:
  Like often with bacterias, liver and kidneys may be affected, but here these are rare forms:
  • Liver:
    • Hepatitis mimetic syndrome
    • Hepatomegalia (in greek :hepatos = liver, megalos = big, thus : growth of the liver)
    • Splenomegalia (in greek : spleno = spleen, thus : growth of the spleen)
  • Kidneys:
    • Acute anuria (urine lock in kidneys or bladder)

Treatment

For pets, is applied an antibiotic treatment, for 15 days in general, the fitting antibiotic will be prescribed by a veterinarian.

The best solution remains prevention, to limit ticks: Systematically treat your dogs and cats!

With humans, as the disease is very polymorphic diagnosis is difficult, thus, if you or one of yours relatives are bitten by a tick, don't forget it and report it to your practician in case of disease.
 

To remove a tick:
Ticks live in forests, on the edges of forests. It attacks warm blood animals.
It detects temperature changes. It hunts, in general, by placing itself on a low branch or a high grass, in order to overhang its victim (heat rises up) and falls when this one is under. It may also climb on a sleeping one.

Once in place, it deeply beats its host and remains mandibles tighten.
If we try to remove an alive tick, it prefers to be decapitated rather than to let go.

To remove a tick, there is to first kill or anesthesize it (ether, alcohol), otherwise the head remains on place, the wound is longer to recover and by this wound diseases and parasites may come in.

At last, for each removed tick, its saliva is still there, thus there is to disinfect each bite (alcohol, Betadine, or others).

Precautions

There is a vaccine, recent in France, against a specie of Borrelia.

There are numbers of antiparasitic products under a lot of different forms.
Few are actually efficients against ticks because the product must be:

1. active agaist ticks,
2. water resistant,
3. remainning permanently on hairs (to kill before they bite).

Some collars and/or sprays are efficient during one month.
There are also pipettes to empty on the back, between the shoulderblades, because this product is toxic: It must not be licked and/or swallowed by the pet.

Some powders and sprays are no longer efficients, The tick got used to it.
Some dare also to sell some ultrasonic devices, having never given the slighest proof of efficiency ...