LYME DISEASE

noun Etymology: Lyme, Connecticut, where it was first reported Date: 1979 an acute inflammatory disease that is caused by a spirochete ( Borrelia burgdorferi ) transmitted by ticks (genus Ixodes and especially I. dammini ), that is usually characterized initially by a spreading red annular erythematous skin lesion and by fatigue, fever, and chills, and that if left untreated may later manifest itself in joint pain, arthritis, and cardiac and neurological disorders