Pathogen Essay – Lyme disease

Pathogen Essay – Lyme disease

Pathogens are organisms that cause diseases. Different types of organisms cause diseases, such as; bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Human exposure to these pathogens varies, and, therefore, the mode of transmission varies. Subsequently, some pathogens are introduced into hosts through vectors or through the consumption of contaminated substances. Once the pathogens are introduced into the body and disease develops, they cause symptoms due to the damaged immune system (1). The relationship between a microorganism and a host also varies from mutualistic, whereby both partners benefit, to pathogenic, whereby the host is infected with a harmful disease. The pathogen of interest is Borrelia burgdorferi which causes Lyme disease, to spread awareness among my peers.

Borrelia burgdorferi is classified under Kingdom Bacteria, Subkingdom Negibacteria, Phylum Spirochaetae, Class Spirochaetes, Order Spirochaetales, Family Spirochaetaceae, Genus Borrelia, and Species Borrelia burgdorferi (2). Its linear chromosome contains 910,725 base pairs with 853 predicted Open Reading Frames, while its plasmids vary from 9 linear to 11 circular plasmids (3). The cellular structure of Borrelia burgdorferi is spirochete in shape, with up to 60 endoflagella for movement and an outer membrane with a variation of lipoproteins, which contribute to the risk of causing Lyme disease (4). It was discovered about forty years ago, and its mischaracterization causes misinformation.

The life cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi occurs in the tick vector and a mammalian host. There are various adaptation mechanisms in order to adapt for survival, and in this case, it manipulates the expression of genes. When the tick attaches itself to the mammalian host as it feeds, Borrelia burgdorferi undergoes transformations that allow its survival in the new host. Accordingly, the changes in gene expression(RpoS) are the greatest part of this transformation. As the Ixode tick introduces the transformed Borrelia burgdorferi into the host, its saliva’s proteins affect the host’s immune system, favoring the pathogen’s survival (5).

The epidemiology of Borrelia burgdorferi and Lyme disease in the year 1991 has evolved. Consequently, as the disease cases have increased, awareness and research on the same have evolved. The rise in diagnosed cases has been attributed to misinformation caused by mischaracterization. It also appears that the disease does not have sex or age-based preference as both men and women of all ages get infected equally(6).

Risk factors that favor infection vary. Subsequently, they include; environmental factors, tick development stage, and tick attachment time. All these factors influence the risk of infection to the pathogen that will lead to the disease’s development. The host immune responses also vary. Subsequently, both innate and adaptive immune responses can kill the pathogen through the release and action of; T cells, neutrophils, dendritic cells, and macrophages once the immune system identifies the pathogen. The immune system works to reduce the inflammation caused by the tick and reduce the number of pathogens in the body (6).

There are various steps in the diagnosis of Lyme disease. Diagnosis is influenced by the symptoms displayed, and tests carried out. Accordingly, based on Lyme disease’s three stages, a diagnosis is made, such as analyzing the primary wound left behind by the tick, which is the first stage leading to Borrelial lymphocytoma. Moreover, this stage is accompanied by symptoms such as fever and headaches. In the second stage, acute Lyme neuroborreliosis might occur in the early disseminated stage, and the last stage involves a tertiary skin lesion that leads to Acrodermatitis Chronica atrophicans (5). In testing for the disease, laboratory confirmation is carried out through PCR analysis to identify the culture and serological tests (6).

In the treatment of the disease, it is accomplished through antibiotics treatment. Based on the stage of the disease, certain antibiotics are prescribed as treatment. Additionally, the length of time for treatment also varies (6).

References

Kudva, I., Cornick, N., & Plummer, P. (2016). Virulence mechanisms of bacterial pathogens (5th ed.). ASM Press.

ITIS Standard Report Page: Borrelia burgdorferi. Itis.gov. (2021). Retrieved 5 April 2021, from https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=960010

Johnson, D. (2018). Bacterial pathogens and their virulence factors. Springer.

Steere, A., Strle, F., Wormser, G., Hu, L., Branda, J., & Hovius, J. et al. (2016). Lyme borreliosis. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2016.90

Rutz, H., Hogan, B., Hook, S., Hinckley, A., & Feldman, K. (2018). Impacts of misclassification on Lyme disease surveillance. Zoonoses And Public Health, 66(1), 174-178. https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12525

Borchers, A., Keen, C., Huntley, A., & Gershwin, M. (2015). Lyme disease: A rigorous review of diagnostic criteria and treatment. Journal Of Autoimmunity, 57, 82-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaut.2014.09.004

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Pathogen Essay – Lyme disease

We live in constant association with trillions of microorganisms, most of which do us no harm (commensals) and some of which benefit us (mutualists). However, a select few microorganisms are pathogenic in nature, and it is these organisms that make a large impact on public health.

Your paper should touch on the following topics:

Pathogen Essay-Lyme disease

• Why You Chose This Pathogen
• Classification/Genome Organization
• Key Molecular/Cellular Structures
• History of Discovery/Characterization
• Current Public Health Burden (incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, socioeconomic impact)
• Epidemiology (pathogen reservoirs, ease and route of disease transmission)
• Life Cycle/Replication Cycle
• Characteristic Immune Response
• Clinical Disease/Pathology
• Available or Developing Treatment/Vaccination Strategies