Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi or, less commonly, Borrelia mayonii. This bacteria is spread through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks and, if left untreated, can impact the joints, heart and nervous system.
People often confuse the spelling of the disease – limes disease, Lymes disease or Lime disease and wonder how it got its name. Lyme disease is named for Lyme, Conn., where it was first discovered in the U.S. in 1975.