The Myth of the Bullseye: Why Recognizing the Spectrum of Lyme Disease Rashes is Critical for Diagnosis and Treatment

Lyme rashes
By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

BAL Spotlights Series

 

Anna Schotthoefer, PhDAnna Schotthoefer, PhD, a project scientist at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Wisconsin, discusses the collection and analysis of a specific subset of blood and urine samples for Lyme Disease Biobank—a Bay Area Lyme Foundation program—from patients diagnosed with tick-borne diseases in the state. Marshfield Clinic serves a large population in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, which are highly endemic for Lyme disease. Her Bay Area Lyme-funded study of the Marshfield samples focused on visual documentation of rashes associated with Lyme disease and the challenges in accurately diagnosing the disease based on these rashes. The results highlight the difficulties in recognizing early Lyme: only two of 69 patients presented with the classic bullseye rash that doctors learn is the gold standard for diagnosing Lyme from textbooks. Schotthoefer discusses the variety of different rashes that can result from a tick bite, the characterization of the spectrum of rashes, the need for better Lyme diagnostics, and the ongoing efforts to develop new testing methods using the samples collected in LDB. She expresses optimism that in the next five to ten years, there will be significant advancements in Lyme disease detection, diagnosis, and therapeutics—largely thanks to patients who have contributed samples to LDB for ongoing research.

“The textbooks doctors read in medical school tell them, ‘Look for a bullseye rash; look for the target-like lesion,’ and it turns out that’s wrong. There is a need to continue educating clinicians and providers that Lyme rashes are a spectrum.”

– Anna Schotthoefer, PhD

National Dog Day is Sunday August 26th — Keep your Pets Tick and Lyme Safe!

By Bay Area Lyme

Sunday, August 26th is NATIONAL DOG DAY and in honor of our furry four-legged friends, we wanted to share some tips and tactics for keeping you and your pet safe.

Lyme disease is on the rise — the geographic range and prevalence of Lyme-carrying ticks have expanded significantly in recent years, potentially due to climate change as well as many other factors. Here on the West Coast, temperate conditions mean that Lyme disease is almost a year-round (versus seasonal) threat.

Black-legged ticks prefer shaded, moist ground and leaf litter, but they can also be found clinging to tall grasses, brush, and shrubs. Ticks also inhabit gardens and lawns, particularly at the edge of wooded areas, around stone walls, and anywhere deer and white-footed mice (their most common animal hosts) might travel.

It is almost impossible to completely prevent an outdoor pet (or a human) from any tick encounters, there is simply too much exposure to natural tick habitats just outside our back doors. That being said, there are many simple things you can do to help reduce the risk of Lyme disease for you and your pet. Here we share some tips and some answers to the most commonly asked questions.