Lyme disease is a bacterially induced disease caused by the spirochete 
     
     Borrelia burgdorferi. It is a condition that resides mostly in wild mammal 
     
     populations. To affect humans it has to be introduced into the human blood 
     
     stream; most authorities agree that deer ticks constitute the most effective 
     
     vector for the transmission of the disease from wild mammals to people. Since 
     
     it was first diagnosed in the early 19805 in Old Lyme, Connecticut, it has been 
     
     confirmed in over 40 U.S. states and several provinces in Canada. 
     
    

    
     A research paper dealing with the long-range transmission of the deer 
     
     ticks on birds has been published for the central flyway through Wisconsin. The 
     
     figures at first glance, seem reassuringly low; one percent of all birds netted 
     
     were infected with deer ticks and 22 % of those deer ticks were infected with 
     
     E; burgdorferi. 
     
    

    
     Laboratory studies indicate that the dog or wood tick (Dermacentor 
     
     variabilis) does not carry Lyme disease as efficiently as the deer tick. One 
     
     study demonstrated that the dog tick metamorphoses from the larva to the nymph, 
     
     the borrelia are lost. During the larval phase, borrelia were also shed at a 
     
     rapid rate. Still there are some disquieting aspects about the dog tick 
     
     situation. Lyme disease is endemic to regions where the dog tick is the primary 
     
     tick. In Canada, Manitoba is the classic example. Five cases of Lyme disease 
     
     have been reported in southern Manitoba where dog ticks are abundant and deer 
     
     ticks are not reported. 
     
    
   
   
    
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     There are undoubtedly more twists to the transmission routes of this 
     
     disease than we are presently aware of. Mosquitos have been ruled out as 
     
     vectors but tabanid flies are under suspicion. Another paper raised the spectre 
     
     of a faecal route, principally through waterfowl, and one laboratory study 
     
     detected the spread of the disease in contained mice where insects could not 
     
     have been the factor; urine was the suspected agent. 
     
    

    
     This is a disease that cannot be described neatly; the manifestations vary 
     
     enormously with the individual. A classic case would proceed through three 
     
     phases. Phase 1 usually is noticed within days of an infected bite. Recent 
     
     statistics suggest that 60% of victims develop a red skin rash (significantly 
     
     bigger than the common "reaction" to a tick bite). Most victims complain of 
     
     genera flu-like malaise - fever, chills, headaches, stiff muscles and fatigue. 
     
     Phase 2 can occur weeks to months after the initial infection and is 
     
     characterized by various neurological problems. These can include violent 
     
     headaches, nerve inflammations, Bell's palsy and, in a few cases, cardiac 
     
     irregularities. In about 60% of patients, the disease progresses into phase 3 
     
    
   
   
    
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