Should Patients Infected with Borrelia burgdorferi No Longer Be Referred to as Having Lyme Disease?

In 1977, a seminal paper described what was subsequently called Lyme arthritis.1 The name ‘Lyme’ originated from the initial investigation of the disease that was conducted in the Connecticut towns of Lyme, Old Lyme, and East Haddam.1 As more of the clinical manifestations of this illness were discovered, the condition became referred to as Lyme disease.2-4 In 1983, the principal etiologic agent for Lyme disease in North America was identified in patients.3,5 The etiologic agent became known as Borrelia burgdorferi and until fairly recently was the only species of Lyme borrelia identified to cause Lyme disease in the United States.