Can you get Lyme disease from someone else? The short answer is no. There is no direct evidence that Lyme disease is contagious. However,pregnant women are an exception given that they can transmit it to the fetus. In this article, we will look at the different types of modes of transmission of Lyme disease.

What is the most common means of transmission of Lyme disease?

Blacklegged ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi transmit Lyme bacteria when they bite. Tickets can also transmit other disease-causing bacteria, viruses and parasites. These are called co-infections.

A tick requires a blood meal at every stage of its life - as larvae, nymphs and adults. Tickets normally feed on animals, ground-feeding birds or reptiles. Humans are a secondary blood source.

Most bites to humans come from tick nymphs, which are the size of a poppy seed. It is difficult to spot them, even on open skin. The prime seasons for human tick bites are late spring and summer.

Whenan infected tick feeds on you, it injectsspirochetesinto your blood. Research has shown that the severity ofthe infection varies depending on whether the spirochetes come from the tick's salivary glands or its stomach. In this animal research, the infection required 14 times more midgut spirochetes than saliva spirochetes.

Can you get the disease from bodily fluids?

The Lyme bacterium can be found in body fluids, such as :

• Saliva
• The urine
• Breast milk

But there is no evidence that Lyme is not transmitted from person to personthrough contact with bodily fluids. So don't worry about kissing someone with this condition.

Can you get Lyme disease through sex?

There is no concrete evidence that Lyme is sexually transmitted by humans. Experts say that sexual transmission is very low and certainly not conclusive in a scientific sense.

However, a few animal studies onsexual transmission of the Lyme spirochete have shown that this does occur in some cases.

It is not ethical to test sexual transmission by deliberately infecting humans, as was previously done with syphilis. A 2004 study found live Lyme spirochetes in semen and vaginal secretions of people with documented Lyme disease. However, this does not necessarily mean that there are enough spirochetes to spread the infection.

Can you get Lyme disease after a blood transfusion?

There are no well-documented cases of transmission ofLyme diseaseby blood transfusion. In contrast, the Lyme spirocheteBorrelia burgdorferi has been isolated from human blood. And another study found that Lyme spirochetes could survive normal storage procedures in a blood bank.For this reason, people being treated for Lyme disease are advised not to donate blood.

In addition, there have been more than 30 cases of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis, a parasitic co-infection of the same blacklegged tick that transmits Lyme disease.

Can Lyme disease be transmitted during pregnancy?

A pregnant woman with untreated Lyme disease can transmit this infection to the fetus. But if she receives proper treatment forLyme disease, adverse effects are unlikely.

A study of66 pregnant women found that untreated women had a significantly higher risk of an adverse outcome of pregnancy.

The infection from motherto fetus can occur during the first three months of pregnancy. If the mother is not treated, the infection will result in birth defects or miscarriage.

There is no credible evidence that mother-to-fetus transmission occurs months or even years later in the child.

Treatment of Lyme disease for pregnant women is the same as for other people with the disease, with the exception of antibiotics from the tetracycline family.

Can you catch Lyme from your pets?

There is not yet evidence of direct transmission of Lyme disease by pets. But dogs and other pets can bring you ticks to Lyme disease. These ticks could attach themselves to you and cause an infection.

Therefore, it is recommended to check your pets for ticks. This is still essential after leaving them in tall grass, brush or wooded areas where ticks are common.

Symptoms to check for if you have been around ticks

The symptoms of Lyme disease vary widely and mimic those of many other diseases. Here are some common symptoms:

• A flat, red, oval or bull's-eye-shaped rash (but note that you can still have Lyme disease without this rash)
• Fatigue
• Flu-like symptoms such as headache, fever and general malaise
• Joint pain or swelling
• Light sensitivity
• Emotional or cognitive changes
• Neurological problems such as loss of balance
• Heart problems

Again, there is no direct evidence of transmission of Lyme disease from person to person. 

Sources:

http://sante.lefigaro.fr/sante/maladie/maladie-lyme/quel-mode-contamination
https://www.allodocteurs.fr/maladies/maladies-infectieuses-et-tropicales/tiques-et-maladie-de-lyme/la-maladie-de-lyme-est-elle-sexuellement-transmissible_19454.html