It can change its outer surface proteins to "camouflage" itself, staying one step ahead of your body's antibodies.
When an infected tick latches on to feed, the bacteria migrate from its gut to its salivary glands and then into your bloodstream. borrelia burgdorferi
This spirochete causes a characteristic annular rash, arthritis, carditis, and in late stages, encephalopathy. National Institutes of Health (.gov) Why Is Lyme Disease So Hard to Treat? It can change its outer surface proteins to
The bacterium lives in the midgut of certain ticks—primarily the (deer tick) in the Northeast and Midwest, and the western blacklegged tick on the Pacific Coast. and in late stages