Specific Disease Frequently Asked Questions | Lyme

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	Could you get Lyme disease from another person?
	What are the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease?
	How is Lyme disease treated?

Could you get Lyme disease from another person?
No, Lyme disease bacteria are NOT transmitted from person-to-person.

What are the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease?
Within days to weeks following a tick bite, 80% of patients will have a red, slowly expanding "bulls-eye" rash (called erythema migrans), accompanied by general tiredness, fever, headache, stiff neck, muscle aches, and joint pain. If untreated, weeks to months later some patients may develop arthritis, including intermittent episodes of swelling and pain in the large joints; neurologic abnormalities, such as aseptic meningitis, facial palsy, motor and sensory nerve inflammation (radiculoneuritis) and inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); and, rarely, cardiac problems, such as atrioventricular block, acute inflammation of the tissues surrounding the heart (myopericarditis) or enlarged heart (cardiomegaly).

How is Lyme disease treated?
According to treatment experts, antibiotic treatment for 3-4 weeks with doxycycline or amoxicillin is generally effective in early disease. Later disease, particularly with objective neurologic manifestations, may require treatment with intravenous ceftriaxone or penicillin for 4 weeks or more, depending on disease severity. In later disease, treatment failures may occur and retreatment may be necessary. (The Medical Letter, Vol. 42(Issue 1077), May 1, 2000).