What characteristic symptoms can occur in secondary Lyme disease?

Secondary Lyme disease, which occurs after the initial stage of infection with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, is characterized by a range of systemic symptoms. In this stage, patients may present with arthralgias and migratory polyarthropathies. This means they experience joint pain that can move from one joint to another and may affect multiple joints over time. This is due to the immune response triggered by the infection leading to inflammation in the joints.

While skin lesions (such as erythema migrans) and fever typically occur in early Lyme disease, they may not be as prominent in the secondary phase. Pulmonary complications are not commonly associated with Lyme disease, as the infection primarily affects the skin, joints, and nervous system. Severe headaches and mental confusion might be indicative of Lyme neuroborreliosis, which can occur in the later stages but do not specifically characterize the secondary phase of Lyme disease as much as arthralgias and migratory arthritis do.

Thus, arthralgias and migratory polyarthropathies are hallmark symptoms of secondary Lyme disease, representing the body’s immune response to the underlying infection and demonstrating the disease’s potential to affect the musculoskeletal system later in its course.