Twice bitten
By Brian Vastag
From San Diego, at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Second episodes of Lyme disease are probably caused by a second tick bite rather than a return of the original illness, according to a first-of-its-kind study.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, infecting about 20,000 people each year. The disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which deer ticks transmit via biting. Victims often develop a distinctive bull’s-eye rash.