Abstract
Lyme disease and relapsing fever are arthropod-borne infectious diseases caused by the genus Borrelia. These infectious pathogens are maintained by wildlife reservoirs and are transmitted to humans by arthropod vectors. It is, therefore, impossible to eradicate these pathogens from the environment. For this reason, there is currently an international trend toward focusing on understanding the mechanisms of pathogen transmission in order to ultimately prevent disease by interrupting the route of transmission. It is the intent of this review to detail the most recent understanding of the mechanisms by which Borrelia spp. are transmitted by hard-bodied ticks.
