Transmission
Lyme disease is spread by the bite of Ixodes ticks that are infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. Ixodes, commonly known as the deer tick, normally feeds on the white-footed mouse, the white-tailed deer, and certain other mammals. It is responsible for transmitting Borrelia burgdorferi to humans in the northeastern and north-central United States. On the Pacific Coast, the bacteria are transmitted to humans by the western black-legged tick.
Ixodes ticks are much smaller than dog and cattle ticks. In their larval and nymphal stages, they are tiny while in their adult stage, they are slightly larger. The tick nymphs usually transmit the disease.For Lyme disease to exist in an area, three elements must be present in nature. They are Borrelia burgdorferi, the ticks that can transmit it, and mammalian hosts to provide food for the ticks.
