Epidemiology
Lyme borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is an infectious, non-contagious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by bites of ticks of the genus Ixodes.
Human infections occur mainly during the warm season from spring to autumn, when the tick is most active.
This disease is widespread in temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere: in Europe, as well as from China to North America and from Scandinavia to Northern Africa.
In France, the risk of infection higher in the east and the centre; approximately 200 new cases per year are reported out of every 100,000 inhabitants of Alsace. In Europe, approximately 50,000 cases per year are reported.
Symptoms
There are 2 phases in the progression of the disease: an early stage, which sometime goes unnoticed, and a later phase.
- The first stage is characterised by a lesion that is characteristic of Lyme disease, called erythema chronicum migrans. It is a red, rounded and inflamed patch over 5 cm in diameter, which starts out centred on the bite, and then spreads outward. This phase is, in rare cases, accompanied by systemic reactions (fever, fatigue, etc.).
- During the second phase, the disease may have various symptoms: neurological (polyneuritis, facial paralysis, meningitis), rheumatological (arthritis, etc.), or more rarely skin or cardiac symptoms.
Treatment
The treatment of Lyme disease is based on antibiotic treatment (which is to be adjusted depending on the person and the stage of the disease).
Prevention
1. Vaccination
There are no vaccines.
2. Prevention of tick bites
- Wearing clothing that covers the body, particularly the legs,
- use of skin repellents that are suited to temperate zones (Moustifluid Protective Body Lotion Temperates Zones).
- The use of insecticide for clothing (Moustifluid Lotion For Fabrics and Clothing Tropical Zones) is recommended in areas where it is endemic.