Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria tagged posts

Ixodes scapularis ticks transmit the pathogens of Lyme disease, resulting a multisystem illness in a variety of animals and humans. The image shows bottom side a live Ixodes tick as seen under a confocal immunofluorescence microscope. Credit: Dr. Utpal Pal, University of Maryland

Findings have major implications for tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease. Researchers have uncovered a mechanism by which the bacteria that cause Lyme disease persist in the human body and fight the body’s early, innate immune responses. Dr. Utpal Pal, Professor in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maryland (UMD), has been studying the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria throughout his 12 years with UMD, and his work has already produced the protein marker used to identify this bacterial infection in the body...