Lyme disease was first described in the US in 1975-- it's a vector borne illness caused the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It is transmitted to humans primarily by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis and other species.

Is the Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum, also a vector of the Lyme bacteria? My guest today says it is not.

Ellen Stromdahl, BCE joined me on the show to discuss this topic and an article recently published in the Journal of Medical Entomology-- Amblyomma americanum Ticks Are Not Vectors of the Lyme Disease Agent, Borrelia burgdorferi: A Review of the Evidence.

Ellen is an entomologist at the U.S. Army Public Health Center and the lead author of the study.