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The 'Swiss Agent' And A New Mystery Of Lyme Disease

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A tick, whose bite can transmit Lyme disease. (Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)
A tick, whose bite can transmit Lyme disease. (Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

Lyme disease is one of the most common infectious diseases in the country, and an estimated 329,000 people are infected every year.

The research records of the man who discovered the cause of Lyme disease were recently unearthed, and they show that he also discovered another tick-borne bacterium, which he called the "Swiss Agent," might be mistaken for Lyme or might be complicating Lyme infections.

Here & Now's Robin Young talks with Charles Piller, West Coast editor for STAT, about this rediscovered "Swiss Agent."

Guest

Charles Piller, West Coast editor for STAT. He tweets @cpiller.

This segment aired on October 12, 2016.

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