MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Lyme disease organism, Borrelia burgdorferi

Medical Encyclopedia

Lyme disease organism, Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete bacteria that causes Lyme disease. It is similar in shape to the spirochetes that cause other diseases, such as relapsing fever and syphilis. (Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Update Date: 5/20/2008

Updated by: Jantin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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