Spirochete

Borrelia burgdorferi

Using darkfield microscopy technique, this photomicrograph, magnified 400x, reveals the presence of spirochete or corkscrew-shaped bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the pathogen responsible for causing Lyme disease. Borrelia burgdorferi are helical shaped bacteria. They are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected deer tick and caused more than 23,000 cases of Lyme disease in the United States during 2002.