Is the nymph or adult tick more likely to transmit Lyme?
Again the research does not agree on this. Both have been shown to rapidly acquire the spirochete of B. burgdorferi but the rates of infectious transmission to humans are a matter for conjecture. Common sense suggests that the tiny nymphs (an early stage in the tick’s development) are the most dangerous for humans because they are so small that they can eat without being noticed. Ticks at this stage are responsible for transmitting 90 percent of tick-borne illnesses according to Professor Thomas N. Mather, director of the Centre for Vector-Borne Disease at the University of Rhode Island USA.
