Lyme Disease is a new condition in our infectious disease panoply. It has only been suspected since 1975, and only in 1978 was it suspected to transmitted by ticks. The causative agent was not identified until 1981. This piece is intended only to be a very basic survey of the condition and some of the controversies surrounding it, not a comprehensive dissertation. There is a very good group at Dailykos called Lyme Disease Awareness with contributors who have more personal information than I do. However, do not take anything you read in this piece or in the group in general as a substitute for competent medical advise and treatment.
Let us think about that for a minute. Western medicine had recognized most all serious infectious diseases since the time of Herodotus! Certainly some exceptions are present, such as syphilis, with seems to be a New World import to Europe and certain, very long latent period virus diseases that we are just now discovering.
Lyme Disease is different, though. It is caused by a bacterial agent, a specific spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi, the species name from its discoverer, the brilliant Swiss-American biologist, Dr. Willy Burgdorfer.