Meet The Microbiologist - The Scientists Behind The Microbiology

Identified in the 1980s, Borrelia burgdorferi and other Lyme disease-associated spirochetes have since been found throughout the world. Jorge Benach answers questions about Lyme Disease symptoms, his role in identifying the causative bacterium, and his current research on multispecies pathogens carried by hard-bodied ticks. Julie’s Biggest Takeaways Erythema migrans (the classic bullseye rash) is the most common manifestation that drives people to go see the doctor to be diagnosed with Lyme disease, but only about 40% of people diagnosed with Lyme disease experience erythema migrans. Lyme disease can progress to serious secondary manifestations. Why some patients experience these additional disease manifestations, but others do not,  is one of the heaviest areas of study in Lyme disease. Though Borreliadoesn’t have virulence factors that mediate tissue damage, it does avoid the immune system via antigenic variation. When the bacterium is first introduced into a new human host, that person’s immune system gene