The monthly Lyme Disease support group meeting is scheduled for March 27 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Hillsboro Public Library meeting room, 819 High Ave., Hillsboro.

What happens in your body when you are infected by any of the various tick borne diseases? The blog, “Spirochetes Unwound,” describes one survival mode of Lyme bacterial behavior in their Dec. 31, 2012 post,  “Biofilms of the Lyme Disease Spirochete.”

Thanks to a recent study published in PLoS One, we now know that free-swimming Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme Bacteria) are able to organize themselves into a sedentary community called a biofilm.  ... most other bacteria are capable of the same feat when provided the opportunity. ... Prior to the 1990s biofilms were thought to be blobs of goo containing bacteria randomly distributed throughout their sticky matrix.  In reality, (it is) a complex three-dimensional structure. ... The organization of B. burgdorferi is apparent even at the earliest stages of biofilm development. ... the spirochetes organize themselves into “nets” of the type you see hanging from basketball hoops.  The spirochetes come together lengthwise to form the “strands” of the net.  With time, the biofilm thickens as the bacteria form additional layers.  Most of the spaces in the net close up with the rest probably ending up forming a network of channels.  The remaining holes can be seen as pits along the surface of the mature biofilm.  The pits appear to be entry points for the channels, which are thought to circulate nutrients to the members of the community and remove waste products.

These bacterial biofilms from which so many of Lyme sufferer’s health problems arise are amazingly tiny. Do you have answers about how you deal with the bacterial biofilms in your body? We welcome your input into our discussion; or you can come to listen at our meeting.

Questions about our meeting or its purpose(s) may be emailed to garycepek@yahoo.com, or telephone 608-489-2725 (ask for Gary), or mail to: Gary Cepek, S1468 Cepek Rd., Elroy, WI 53929.