- The Enterprise - The Recorder They’re tiny. Minuscule. Full
grown, they’re no bigger than a sesame seed. But they can cause
grief of such proportions that physicians are often left
confounded. They are deer ticks, Ixodes scapularis. They
transmit a scourge called Lyme disease, a debilitating
affliction that shares symptoms with so many other maladies it’s
difficult to diagnose. Tests for the disease often turn up
negative for as long as a year before registering positive.
There is no vaccine. Antibiotics help, but only if the victim is
placed on medications early. Otherwise, it’s a long, painful
ride. Sufferers become familiar with drugs like doxycycline (for
adults), amoxicillin (for children), erythromycin (for pregnant
women) and ceftriaxone, with treatment lasting 10 to 28 days. In
later stages, the bacteria spread throughout the body and might
cross the blood-brain barrier, making the infection more
difficult to treat. Late-diagnosed Lyme is treated with oral or
intravenous antibiotics, frequently ceft