Technology

Borrelia burgdorferi is classified as a gram negative (spirochete-spiral shaped bacteria) belonging to the genus Borrelia. b. burgdorferi  occurring mostly in North America and is also found in Europe, Asia. This particular bacterium is the main cause of Lyme disease which is a zoonotic disease mostly transmitted by Ixodid ticks, Ixodes scapularis which is the deer tick and is a multisystem disease characterized by arthritis, neuritis and carditis. Lyme disease was named after a village in Connecticut in the United States of America where a number of cases were first isolated in 1975. It is observed that this disease was tick-borne the cause of the disease had however remained unknown until it was identified in 1982 (Engelkirk, and Duben-Engelkirk 87-89).

The epidemiology of this disease is around endemic areas of Soviet Union, southern Ontario, Australia, china, Japan and these cases are observed during the summer, the distribution of this disease also coincides with availability or abundance of ticks. This study seeks to address this disease by discussing its mode of transmission, incubation period, portal of entry, portal of exit, pathogenicity, factors influencing virulence, embalming implications and restorative art implications

Modes of Transmission
The mode of transmission for Lyme disease is mainly through the bite of an infected Ixodid  tick, through its saliva, transferring the spirochete  into the host and also contains substances that interfere with the immune response at the site of the bite, leading to multiplication and migration into the body and hence the infection. However, substantial evidence has shown that there are a number of non-insect related modes of transmission, including person to person contact through sexual intercourse and through the placenta from the mother to infant. Being a zoonotic disease, dairy cattle and other animals may acquire this disease and pass it to humans successfully through the food chain (Engelkirk, and Duben-Engelkirk 103). Borrelia burgdorferi can survive through the processes involved in blood purification for donated blood hence Lyme disease can be acquired through blood transfusion (Engelkirk, and Duben 106).

Incubation Period
The incubation period for this disease takes about three to thirty two days to manifest after exposure of the individual to the causative agent, with various symptoms including Tick bite related symptoms which include a spot that appears red in color at the location of the bite and this grows gradually, becoming bigger, normally with a pale middle part, referred to as erythematic migrans. Systemic symptoms may include fatigue, headaches, slight fever, swollen lymph gland and joint and muscle pains.

Portals of Entry and Exit
The skin or mucous membrane is the port of entry for the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria and affects all the tissues and major organs in the body. Borrelia burgdoferi responsible for Lyme disease and especially the tick-borne strain posses a great challenge due to the fact that it affects the body fluids (Weintraub 54-56)). However, embalming which involves the removal of the body fluids to preserve the cadaver helps in stopping the spirochete from further migration in the susceptible host years.

Pathogenicity
The white-footed mouse is the natural reservoir for Borrelia Burgdoferi. Ticks usually pass on the spirochetes to the white- tailed deer, humans, and other warm blooded animals when they take a bloody meal from an infected animal. Borrelia Burgdorferi then invades the blood and tissues of infected mammals and birds. Once Borrelia burgdorferi spirochete has been inoculated into the skin it moves into the blood of infected birdsmammals, through the extra cellular matrix, due to its ability to bind to the components of the extra cellular matrix, for example, the platelets, red blood cells and epithelial cells (Norris 1320). Borrelia burgdoferria disseminates rapidly in the body, enters all tissues of the body and rapidly crosses the blood brain barrier. They then live inside the neurons and glial cells sometimes crossing the placental barrier and can infect the fetus at any stage of pregnancy. The bacterium Borrelia Burgdoferi produces bio toxins which have high tissue affinity, mainly neurotoxins with high molecular trophism for lipid structures like the nervous system, muscles, joints and lungs. When Borrelia burgdorferi invades the brain, it results into inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorder known as neuroborreliosis.

Factors influencing virulence
There are several factors that may predispose an individual to this disease, the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria being a master of disguise posses the ability to lie dormant for several years and can be easily activated by conditions that may include increased stress levels, other infections that may be responsible in compromising ones immunity. Environmental temperature and humidity also influence the virulence of the bacteria in certain parts of the world.

Restorative art implication
Protective clothing could also be embraced in prevention, for example people in these areas can wear long sleeved shirts, gumboots, gloves when handling pets and other animals (Weintraub 42-43). However, embalming which involves the removal of the body fluids to preserve the cadaver helps in stopping the spirochete from further migration in the susceptible host years.

Conclusion
Currently, there still does not exist a standard method for growth of B.burdgorferi in vitro, although spirochetes can be detected in culture media after a period of three weeks some isolates are still not visible even after several months. Therefore a lot of research still needs to be done in the management and even in finding a vaccine of this disease that has great implications to both human and animal health. A more multidisciplinary approach may shed light on how to approach the prevention and even treatment of this disease.