In early July, 1863, troops from General Robert E. Leeâs Army of Northern Virginia (the Confederates) met up with a patrol of Union cavalry on the outskirts of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Over the next three days, this encounter grew into a turning point of the Civil War.
In the South, lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) can also transmit Lyme disease or a closely related illness. Ticks have four life stages: egg, larva, nymph and adult. In each stage after hatching, they suck blood from animals like mice, squirrels, birds and deer.
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi, which is transmitted through the bite of a deer tick. Both nymph and adult ticks can transmit B. burgdorferi. Risk Factors. Anyone exposed to deer ticks is at risk for Lyme disease.