Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States. Over the span of fifteen years the annual Lyme disease count increased by 101%, where 93% of all reported cases came from 10 states in the Northeast and Midwest (Bacon, Kugeler, and Mean). Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks (CDC data 2013). In the early 1900s, European doctors discovered a disease pattern that created the redness and rashes associated with tick bites. By the 1970s, children in the United States, particularly in the Lyme region of Connecticut, were developing these rashes and other symptoms associated with the bacteria found in Europe. The condition was called Lyme disease, and the Borrelia burgdorferi associated with the new disease was found in the gut of the vector, the adult deer tick. After the condition was named, the number of cases increased tremendously. (Bratton, Whiteside, Hovan, Engle & Edwards 2008). Most people become infected during the spring and summer months. Infected deer ticks bite ticks that are no larger than the size of a sesame seed (CDC Transmission 2013). The highest number of reported cases are children aged 5 to 14 and adults aged 50 to 70 (Bratton, Whiteside, Hovan, Engle & Edwards 2008). Children are more likely to be bitten by an infected tick. Being outdoors and running through bushes and wooded areas increases the risk (Bratton, Whiteside, Hovan, Engle & Edwards 2008). The Lyme Disease Association found that 37% of reported cases were children, or 1,590,449 children affected between 1990 and 2011. (PRNewswire 2013). Lyme is a debilitating disease especially for children who have the... medium of paper...ugeler, KJ, Mean, PS (2008). Lyme disease surveillance – United States, 1992-2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 57(10), 1-9. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxygsu-arm1.galileo.usg.edu/eds/detail?sid=130e9714-4919-41ca-b7c0 ae94c65dacb9%40sessionmgr112&vid=1&hid=105&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdm Umc2NvcGU9c 2l0ZQ%3d%3d # db=c9h&AN=34693908.Bratton, R.L., Whiteside, J.W., Hovan, M.J., Engle, R.L., Edwards, F.D. (2008). Diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 83(4), 556-571. doi: 10.4065/83.5.566. Epps, S. C. (2003). Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Lyme disease in children. Pediatric Drugs, 5(6), 363-72. Doi: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxygsu- arm1.galileo.usg.edu/eds/detail?sid=ce0f81ad-b290-495c-b638- 42c69b562e36%40sessionmgr4005&vid=1&hid=4111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzL 2NvcGU9c2 l0ZQ%3d %3d#db=mnh&AN=12765486