Surely everyone would like to go to a picnic without the fear of taking a tick on board. These parasitic insects are able to carry the Lyme disease and pass it to humans. The infection can even spread to the nervous system and heart of a person if it’s left untreated.
It’s obvious that a vaccine is needed to tackle Lyme disease, and the good news is that researchers are already working on it. According to Aljazeera.com, researchers might already have the first vaccine for Lyme disease in 20 years, but they need to put it to the test to be sure. As a result, they’re currently looking for volunteers who are willing to participate in the trial.
The publication cites what Robert Terwilliger has to say, a hunter who has seen lots of people dealing with Lyme disease and who is waiting to be part of the vaccine trial:
It’s always a worry, you know? Especially when you’re sitting in a tree stand hunting and you feel something crawling on you,
You’ve got to be very, very cautious.
Pfizer has been collaborating with French biotech firm Valneva for the development of the new vaccine for Lyme disease. If their project proves to be successful, both adults and children at least 5 years old will go to the picnic without having to worry about those pesky ticks anymore.
A person who becomes infected with Lyme disease will generally manifest symptoms that are similar to those of flu: headaches, fever, fatigue, but also a skin rash that’s known as erythema migrans.
Bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi is what usually causes Lyme disease. But more rarely, Borrelia mayonii can be to blame.
What’s interesting is that the world had a vaccine for Lyme disease in the past, but it was removed in 2002 because of lack of demand.
