It can change its outer surface proteins to "camouflage" itself, staying one step ahead of your body's antibodies.
Unlike almost all other life forms, this bacterium does not need iron to survive. Instead, it uses manganese, allowing it to bypass the body's natural defense of "starving" invaders of iron. 3. Symptoms to Watch For borrelia burgdorferi
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. It can change its outer surface proteins to