I’ve heard that mice and dogs can act as hosts to the B. burgdorferi microbes that cause Lyme disease. If a mouse were hosting the bacteria and bit someone, could that person contract Lyme disease?
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4 Responses to “Can Lyme disease be spread through anything besides ticks?”
Yes (maybe), though the deer tick is its primary vector there have been reports that the bacteria which causes the disease has been found in fleas and horseflies, however this is fairly rare and still being debated.
As for your mouse example, they bite would have to allow them to exchange unlikely large quantities of bloods. Even if that were to happen the bacteria are generally presents in different forms when it is in different hosts in order to resist each hosts immune responses. It would have to shift forms very quickly after getting into the human which, which is highly unlikely making the mouse scenario VERY improbable.
if the tick that is infected with lyme disease bites an animal and that animal bites you, yes you can get lyme disease. as soon as the ‘lyme’ goes into the blood stream of the animal, it has lyme. just put on bug spray whenever you go outside and you are ok. just make sure it has deet in it though!
I don’t believe there has been any documentation that Lyme is spread from an animal bite. Most typically, it’s a tick bite. There is some evidence that it might also be transmitted via mosquitoes and/or fleas, but that hasn’t been conclusively shown yet. There is strong evidence that Lyme can be passed from a mother to her unborn child. Some experts believe it might be passed between sexual partners.
That said, if you have Lyme (or think you might have it) and you don’t remember a tick bite–you are not alone. The ticks that carry this crummy disease are pretty small–especially the baby ones (called nymphs) and when they bite they inject you with an anesthetic, so you typically don’t feel anything. Also, while some infected people start showing symptoms right away, in others the disease seems to lie dormant–sometimes for years–before it rears its head and you get desperately ill.
HIGHLY unlikely, Marisa. A bite from a mouse (?) or dog is “transiental” in nature (how’s THAT for as word!). Only the deer tick (in THIS neck of the woods, anyhowz) is an efficient transfer agent of the borrelia. And even IT needs nearly a day to engorge & begin to “fill up” on your tasty before the spirochettes on-board really start to disembark ‘en masse’ from their safe, mid-gut “seats” & into the victim’s bite area.
The # of ‘ketes in the saliva & on the teeth of any infected mouse that might bite you (& the only time I’ve heard of someone getting bit this way is when they back the creature into a corner) is insignificant to non-existant. They prefer to corkscrew their way into tissue, not hang out in bodily fluids!
(Not the way to go if ya want to survive as a parasite.
Don’t worry about the bite. Worry about any ticks that might POSSIBLY’ve hitched a ride during your intimate encounter!
Now, where did Fido go to?. . .
I’ve heard that mice and dogs can act as hosts to the B. burgdorferi microbes that cause Lyme disease. If a mouse were hosting the bacteria and bit someone, could that person contract Lyme disease?
February 27th, 2010 at 12:02 am
Yes (maybe), though the deer tick is its primary vector there have been reports that the bacteria which causes the disease has been found in fleas and horseflies, however this is fairly rare and still being debated.
As for your mouse example, they bite would have to allow them to exchange unlikely large quantities of bloods. Even if that were to happen the bacteria are generally presents in different forms when it is in different hosts in order to resist each hosts immune responses. It would have to shift forms very quickly after getting into the human which, which is highly unlikely making the mouse scenario VERY improbable.
February 27th, 2010 at 12:11 am
if the tick that is infected with lyme disease bites an animal and that animal bites you, yes you can get lyme disease. as soon as the ‘lyme’ goes into the blood stream of the animal, it has lyme. just put on bug spray whenever you go outside and you are ok. just make sure it has deet in it though!
February 27th, 2010 at 12:18 am
I don’t believe there has been any documentation that Lyme is spread from an animal bite. Most typically, it’s a tick bite. There is some evidence that it might also be transmitted via mosquitoes and/or fleas, but that hasn’t been conclusively shown yet. There is strong evidence that Lyme can be passed from a mother to her unborn child. Some experts believe it might be passed between sexual partners.
That said, if you have Lyme (or think you might have it) and you don’t remember a tick bite–you are not alone. The ticks that carry this crummy disease are pretty small–especially the baby ones (called nymphs) and when they bite they inject you with an anesthetic, so you typically don’t feel anything. Also, while some infected people start showing symptoms right away, in others the disease seems to lie dormant–sometimes for years–before it rears its head and you get desperately ill.
Good sources of info about Lyme disease:
http://www. canlyme. com
http://www. lymenet. org
http://www. lymeinfo. net
http://www. lymediseaseassociation. org
http://www. ilads. org
http://www. betterhealthguy. com
http://www. publichealthalert. com
http://www. freewebs. com/teenswithlyme
http://www. lymetimes. org
February 27th, 2010 at 12:49 am
HIGHLY unlikely, Marisa. A bite from a mouse (?) or dog is “transiental” in nature (how’s THAT for as word!). Only the deer tick (in THIS neck of the woods, anyhowz) is an efficient transfer agent of the borrelia. And even IT needs nearly a day to engorge & begin to “fill up” on your tasty before the spirochettes on-board really start to disembark ‘en masse’ from their safe, mid-gut “seats” & into the victim’s bite area.
The # of ‘ketes in the saliva & on the teeth of any infected mouse that might bite you (& the only time I’ve heard of someone getting bit this way is when they back the creature into a corner) is insignificant to non-existant. They prefer to corkscrew their way into tissue, not hang out in bodily fluids!
(Not the way to go if ya want to survive as a parasite.
Don’t worry about the bite. Worry about any ticks that might POSSIBLY’ve hitched a ride during your intimate encounter!
Now, where did Fido go to?. . .