A newspaper report from Boston in the late 1990s described a growing fear among

Question

A newspaper report from Boston in the late 1990s described a growing fear among local residents. They were afraid to venture outdoors because of the increasing visibility of a particular infectious disease. The article reported that the number of people hiking in Massachusetts had recently decreased dramatically, and that many homeowners were erecting fences and spraying their yards with pesticides. Many people who dared to venture outdoors wore white clothing and tucked their pants inside their socks. In New York, there were reports of residents simply paving over their lawns, and some people gave up gardening altogether.

What infectious disease do you suppose these cautious citizens were trying to avoid?

What determines which geographical region of the country carries risk of this disease for its inhabitants

Another major disease in the United States is transmitted in a similar way. What is it, and what microorganism causes it?

Which regions of the country have a high incidence of this second tick-borne disease?

Which of these two diseases frequently has no skin manifestations at all?

Explanation / Answer

a)

Massachusetts is a northeastern region and from the above given scenario, the disease is spreading due to flies (Ixodes tick). Therefore, I suspect that the disease is called Lyme disease, which is caused by a spirochete pathogen called Borrelia burgdorferi.

The life cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi is as follows:

b)

The Borrelia burgdorferi is mostly spread over Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, North America (Massachusetts) is the geographical region of the country carries risk of this disease for its inhabitants. For example, this disease affects 300,000 people a year in the U.S.    

c)

Another major disease in the United States is transmitted in a similar way is called babesiosis. This disease is caused by another protozoan called Babesia. The Ixodes tick is also act a carrier for Babesia. Another secondary disease is called anaplasmosis, which is also a tick-borne disease of central Massachusetts.    

d)

The secondary tick borne diseases of the U.S are:

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