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Symptoms of Lyme disease include:
The incubation period from infection to the onset of symptoms is usually 1-2 weeks, but can be as long as one month. However, it is possible for an infected person to display no symptoms, or display only one or two symptoms, which can make diagnosis difficult. Left untreated, Lyme disease can cause chronic disability, but is rarely fatal.
Lyme disease infection can be prevented by avoiding heavily wooded areas, where ticks may live in the moist, thick underbrush. If such places cannot be avoided, prevention can also be achieved by:
In addition, since the tick usually must be attached to the skin for at least 36 hours before the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria is transmitted, removing the tick immediately when found may prevent infection.
Treatment of Lyme disease usually consists of a course of antibiotics.
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