Passage I

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that are transmitted to humans by the bite of infected deer ticks. The first sign of Lyme disease is often a bull's-eye rash on the skin. Figure 1 shows the 2-year deer tick life cycle.

Figure 1 adapted from "Deer Tick Eco logy." ©1998 by the American Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc.

A study area adjacent to a forest was divided in to 5 zones (A- E), People living in the study area were tested monthly for Lyme disease. The results are shown in Figure 2. For each zone, Table 1 shows the number of houses, mice, deer tick larvae per mouse, households that sighted deer daily, and the percent of households inhabited by at least 1 person infected with Lyme disease.

Figure 2 and Table 1 adapted from Catherine C. Latavica et al., "Rapid Emergence of a Focal Epidemic of Lyme Disease i n Coastal Massachusetts“ ©1989 by The Massachusetts Med ical Society.