Article updated and reviewed by David Aronoff, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Michigan Medical School on May 9, 2005.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and acquired through tick bites.

In 1975, Lyme disease was discovered in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Parents were perplexed by the high incidence of arthritis among their children and called for an investigation; this revealed that the children were suffering...