Rare type of Lyme disease found for the first time in New York

Almost all cases of the tick-borne illness in the United States are caused by corkscrew-shaped bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. But B. burgdorferi is actually one of two Lyme disease-causing species in the U.S. The other, Borrelia mayonii, is far more rare. Until now, it has only ever been detected in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Both types of bacteria are spread by deer ticks.