ABSTRACT
Lyme disease is a tickborne zoonosis caused by three closely related species (genospecies) of Borrelia: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, which will be referred to as B. burgdorferi hereafter; B. garinii, and B. afzelii (1-3). The spirochetes are transmitted by the nymph and adult female Ixodes (hard) ticks. Infection of humans by these Borrelia may result in a broad spectrum of clinical syndromes collectively referred to as Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis. The most common clinical manifestation is a skin lesion, erythema migrans, followed in some patients by rheumatological, cardiac, and neurological abnormalities.
