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Article: The emergence of Lyme disease in Canada
- Article from:
- Canadian Medical Association. Journal
- Article date:
- June 9, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Canadian Medical Association Jun 9, 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Lyme disease, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by tick vectors, is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the temperate zone.1 More than 20 000 cases are recorded annually in the United States.2 In about 80% of cases, early Lyme disease is characterized by a skin lesion, erythema migrans, which expands to a diameter of more than 5 cm from the site of the tick bite.3 If left untreated, the disease can progress to early disseminated Lyme disease with neurologic (facial palsy, meningitis and meningoradiculoneuritis, also known as Bannwarth syndrome) and cardiac (usually atrioventricular block, sometimes with myopericarditis) involvement, and then to late ...