Lyme Disease Information for Health Professionals

On this page:
Required disease reporting
Clinical features
Guidelines
More information

NEW! Tickborne Disease Continuing Education from CDC
This free online curriculum will enable front-line healthcare providers to recognize, diagnose, and treat Lyme disease, an increasingly common tickborne illness.

The pathognomonic erythema migrans (EM) rash is present in the majority (but not all) cases of Lyme disease. It is not always “bulls-eye” in appearance but does expand in size over time. If a patient has an EM highly suggestive of Lyme disease and recent symptom onset (<2-3 weeks), B. burgdorferi antibody tests are not recommended because of low sensitivity at this stage of infection. Seroconversion to IgG antibodies on Western blot is expected for patients with symptoms lasting > 1 month. For patients who have had signs and symptoms for >1 month or who do not have an EM rash, diagnosis should be based on laboratory tests in addition to symptomatology. Long-term or repeated antibiotics for the treatment of “chronic” Lyme disease is not necessary, safe, or recommended. Evidence does not demonstrate persistence of viable B. burgdorferi after treatment with the correct antibiotic for the indicated treatment duration (2-4 weeks). Persistent symptoms following proper treatment may be due to lingering inflammatory processes, an unrecognized tick-borne coinfection, or an unrelated process.

Required disease reporting

• Reporting Lyme Disease
  Minnesota Rules Governing Communicable Diseases require health care providers to report cases of Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi and other Borrelia spp.) to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) within 1 working day.

  MDH staff also are available to provide clinical consultation regarding diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Call 651-201-5414 for a clinical consultation.
  

Clinical features

• Signs and Symptoms
  The signs and symptoms of Lyme disease vary among individuals.  A person may not have all of these symptoms.
  
  
• Rashes Caused by Lyme Disease
  • CDC: Lyme Disease Rashes and Look-alikes

Guidelines

• CDC: Tickborne Diseases of the United States: A Reference Manual for Health Care Providers
  CDC Handbook, designed as a way for health care providers to access information on tickborne diseases and tick identification. 

• Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and American College of Rheumatology (ACR): 2020 Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease
  Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

• Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): 2020 Guideline on Diagnosis and Management of Babesiosis
  Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
  

More information

• Tickborne Disease Materials
  Printable and downloadable materials for provider and patient education, including tick ID cards, posters, fact sheets, maps, and presentations.

• CDC Lyme Disease
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention general information about Lyme disease.

• Share This

Spotlight

Check out our new video series: All About Ticks.

Tick Monitoring
Do you have a tick that you want to be identified?

---

Contact us:

If you have questions or comments about this page, use our IDEPC Comment Form or call 651-201-5414 for the MDH Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division.