Learning Labs:   Immunology

Note: The tick's habits and life cycle dictate when humans are at risk for infection with the spirochete B. burgdorferi

Photographs and diagrams reprinted with permission

Life Cycle of Ixodes
(the deer tick)

When Julia awoke with Bell's palsy the doctors at the emergency room wondered if she had Lyme disease. It was early summer in Maine, and this is when the tick that carries the spirochete that causes Lyme disease (B. burgdorferi) is most likely to bite humans. The nymph is a more voracious feeder than the adult tick.

Next: How the doctors knew Julia did not have a stroke...

Links about Lyme disease:

CDC: Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease in Maine