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Infect Immun 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Division of Immunity and Pathogenesis, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, Florida, 32827 USA.

Lyme disease is caused by the spirochete and is transmitted via the bite of an infected tick. enters the skin, disseminates via the bloodstream, and infects various distal tissues leading to inflammatory sequelae such as Lyme arthritis and Lyme carditis. linear plasmid 36 (lp36) is critical for mammalian infectivity, however, the full complement of lp36-encoded genes that contribute to this process remains unknown. Read More

PLoS One 2019 19;14(2):e0212637. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Policy Integration and Zoonoses Division, Centre for Food-borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Public Health Agency of Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada.

Lyme disease, the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in North America, is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, which is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis in eastern Canada and Ixodes pacificus in western Canada. Recently, the northward range expansion of I. scapularis ticks, in south-eastern Canada, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the incidence of human Lyme disease. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2018 Dec 28. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Scientific Directorate of Epidemiology and public health, Sciensano, J. Wytsmanstraat 14, 1050, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address:

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is an important tick-borne disease which can cause a broad range of symptoms mainly affecting the skin, the nervous system and the joints. This study aims to estimate the incidence of the different clinical manifestations of LB in Belgium. The incidence of erythema migrans (EM) was estimated through the network of sentinel general practices at 97. Read More

Front Vet Sci 2018 31;5:346. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Institute of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.

Spirochetes belonging to the sensu lato (s.l.) complex differ in their ability to establish infection and to survive in diverse vertebrate hosts. Read More

Med Mal Infect 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

FHU INOVPAIN, centre d'évaluation et de traitement de la douleur, CHU de Timone, pôle de neurosciences cliniques, 13005 Marseille, France.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria of the B. burgdorferi sensu lato complex, and can give polymorphic clinical manifestations that can affect several organs such as the skin, the central nervous system, or the joints. In recent years, patients' associations and physicians have been supporting the hypothesis that this infection would manifest as chronic generalized musculoskeletal pain symptoms, named "chronic Lyme disease". Read More

Med Mal Infect 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

IRD, AP-HM, MEPHI, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Aix Marseille Université, 13005 Marseille, France.

Bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, responsible for Lyme disease, are members of the spirochetes phylum. Diagnostic difficulties of Lyme disease are partly due to the characteristics of spirochetes as their culture is tedious or even impossible for some of them. We performed a literature review to assess the value of the various diagnostic tests of spirochetes infections of medical interest such as Lyme borreliosis, relapsing fever borreliae, syphilis, and leptospirosis. Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2019 Feb;73(6):717-726

Department of Cardiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address:

The incidence of Lyme disease, a tick-borne bacterial infection, is dramatically increasing in North America. The diagnosis of Lyme carditis (LC), an early disseminated manifestation of Lyme disease, has important implications for patient management and preventing further extracutaneous complications. High-degree atrioventricular block is the most common presentation of LC, and usually resolves with antibiotic therapy. Read More

J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2019 Feb;17(2):167-181

Department of Rheumatology and clinical Immunology, Freiburg University Medical Center, Medical Faculty, Albert Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany.

Syndromes associated with concurrent skin and joint inflammation frequently pose a therapeutic challenge for both dermatologists and rheumatologists. In part 1 of this review, we discussed psoriatic arthritis as well as the autoinflammatory disorders SAPHO syndrome, Still's disease and Behçet's disease. Part 2 will address rheumatoid arthritis, reactive arthritis, Reiter's syndrome and Lyme borreliosis. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 24;5(10):000942. Epub 2018 Oct 24.

Gelre Ziekenhuizen, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.

Objective: Here we describe a rare case of systemic sarcoidosis in a healthy young man with neuroborreliosis as a putative trigger.

Case: A 21-year-old forestry worker was diagnosed with systemic sarcoidosis involving his lungs, kidneys and skin. Additional diagnostics revealed signs indicative of a recent infection with . Read More

BMC Health Serv Res 2019 Feb 12;19(1):116. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 750 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD, 21202, USA.

Background: Are creativity and compliance mutually exclusive? In clinical settings, this question is increasingly relevant. Hospitals and clinics seek the creative input of their employees to help solve persistent patient safety issues, such as the prevention of bloodstream infections, while simultaneously striving for greater adherence to evidence-based guidelines and protocols. Extant research provides few answers about how creativity works in such contexts. Read More

PLoS One 2019 12;14(2):e0212222. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Objectives: To examine whether post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) defined by fatigue, cognitive complaints and widespread pain following the treatment of Lyme disease is associated with small fiber neuropathy (SFN) manifesting as autonomic and sensory dysfunction.

Methods: This single center, retrospective study evaluated subjects with PTLDS. Skin biopsies for assessment of epidermal nerve fiber density (ENFD), sweat gland nerve fiber density (SGNFD) and functional autonomic testing (deep breathing, Valsalva maneuver and tilt test) were performed to assess SFN, severity of dysautonomia and cerebral blood flow abnormalities. Read More

PLoS One 2019 12;14(2):e0211778. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Tick-Borne Disease Program, Monmouth County Mosquito Control Division, Tinton Falls, New Jersey, United States of America.

As human cases of tick-borne disease continue to increase, there is a heightened imperative to collect data on human-tick encounters to inform disease prevention. Passive tick surveillance programs that encourage members of the public to submit ticks they have encountered can provide a relatively low-cost means of collecting such data. We report the results of 11 years of tick submissions (2006-2016) collected in Monmouth County, New Jersey, an Atlantic coastal county long endemic for Lyme disease. Read More

Klin Mikrobiol Infekc Lek 2018 Sep;24(3):88-99

Department of Children's Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, e-mail:

The national guideline aims to highlight the latest knowledge about clinical manifestations of the infection, to summarize the diagnostic algorithm and to recommend the appropriate antibiotic therapy with respect to evidence-based medicine. The recommendations are consistent with most European guidelines as well as those published by the IDSA. The guideline provides the most recent information on the epidemiology, etiology and pathogenesis of Lyme borreliosis, dermatological, neurological and musculoskeletal involvement, the appropriate diagnostic procedure and prevention. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019 28;9. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Neuroinflammation Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

There are 17 human-biting ticks known in Australia. The bites of , and can cause paralysis, inflammation, and severe local and systemic reactions in humans, respectively. Six ticks, including , and may transmit , or subsp. Read More

NASN Sch Nurse 2019 Feb 9:1942602X19827099. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Director of the MSN Community Health/Population Health/School Health Program, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with Lyme arthritis becoming one of the most common symptoms of Lyme disease. It is imperative that school nurses become familiar with vector-borne disease and promptly consider Lyme arthritis to be contemplated as a differential diagnosis of a child presenting to the office with a limp and joint pain and swelling with no history of acute injury. The following article will discuss the overview, implications and management of Lyme arthritis in the school setting and includes a relevant IHP for school nurses to utilize in practice. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2019 Feb 10. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.

Tick-borne diseases (TBD), caused by borrelial, rickettsial, and babesial pathogens, are common across the United States and can cause severe clinical disease in susceptible hosts, such as domestic dogs. However, there are limited TBD molecular epidemiological reports for dogs in Texas, and none for the non-Lyme borrelial pathogen responsible for causing tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF). Therefore, data to support the prevalence of TBRF in the canine population is inadequate. Read More

Med Mal Infect 2019 Feb 5. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Institut de neurosciences de la Timone UMR7289, campus santé, Aix-Marseille université, 13005 Marseille, France; Pôle de psychiatrie, Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, 13005 Marseille, France; Fondation FondaMental, 13005 Créteil, France.

Approximately 10% of patients presenting with Lyme disease experience fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, concentration disorders, or short-term memory deficits in the six months following treatment. This entity has been defined as post-Lyme disease syndrome or post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. The pathophysiology of this syndrome is unknown, but neither persistence of the bacterium nor effectiveness of antibiotics are currently reported in the literature. Read More

Lab Chip 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. and California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA and Bioengineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.

We developed a multiplexed point-of-care immunodiagnostic assay for antibody detection in human sera made through the vertical stacking of functional paper layers. In this multiplexed vertical flow immunodiagnostic assay (xVFA), a colorimetric signal is generated by gold nanoparticles captured on a spatially-multiplexed sensing membrane containing specific antigens. The assay is completed in 20 minutes, following which the sensing membrane is imaged by a cost-effective mobile-phone reader. Read More

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2019 Jan 10. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595.

Although a 14-day treatment course with amoxicillin is in wide clinical usage to treat early Lyme disease, only a few published studies exist to validate its efficacy and safety, with none in the United States. In this study, we reviewed the records of 24 prospectively followed adult patients with erythema migrans who were prescribed a 14-day course of amoxicillin, 500 mg 3 times daily. Treatment with amoxicillin was well tolerated and uniformly successful in resolving the erythema migrans skin lesion and in preventing the development of an objective neurologic, cardiac, or rheumatologic manifestation. Read More

Rev Chilena Infectol 2018 ;35(5):606-611

Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile.

This is a case report of an american woman who consulted in our country for multiple erythema migrans, from which a Lyme disease was diagnosed. This infectious disease is caused by spirochetes from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (Bbsl) and is transmitted by the bite of ticks. Traditionally Bbsl had been detected in ticks only in the Northern Hemisphere. Read More

Med Mal Infect 2019 Feb 2. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

Aix Marseille University, IRD, MEPHI, IHU, méditerranée infection, AP-HM, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.

Post-infectious chronic fatigue syndrome is a public health problem. Etiologies and physiopathological mechanisms are unknown. Some viruses are known to be involved in post-infectious chronic fatigue syndrome, but the role of bacterial infection is still questioned, especially in cases of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome where subjective symptoms are regularly attributed to the presence of the dormant bacterium without scientific evidence. Read More

BMC Complement Altern Med 2019 Feb 4;19(1):40. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Rath Research Institute, 1260 Memorex Dr., Santa Clara, CA, 95050, USA.

Background: Borrelia sp. is a causative pathogen of Lyme disease which has become a worldwide health concern. Non-toxic approaches especially directed toward latent persistent forms of this pathogen are desired. Read More

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2019 Mar 4;38(3):529-539. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

SYNLAB MVZ Augsburg GmbH, Gubener Straße 39, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.

Case-control study for the evaluation of innovative test formats for second-tier testing for the serodiagnosis of Lyme borreliosis (LB). A head-to-head comparison was performed with the test systems ViraStripe, SeraSpot, ViraChip, and recomBead. Serum samples from 62 patients (21 erythema migrans, 33 Lyme neuroborreliosis, 8 late LB) and 91 controls (including 29 potentially cross-reacting sera) were tested. Read More

Laeknabladid 2019 Feb;105(2):63-70

Department of infectious diseases, Landspítali University Hospital.

Introduction: Lyme disease is caused by an infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu latu (B. burgdorferi sl.) which is carried by Ixodes ticks. Read More

Nephrol Ther 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Service de néphrologie-dialyse, centre hospitalier de Cahors, 335, rue du président-Wilson, 46000 Cahors, France; Département de néphrologie et transplantation d'organes, CHU Rangueil, 1, avenue du Professeur-Jean-Poulhès, 31400 Toulouse, France; Inserm U563, IFR-BMT, CHU Purpan, 105, avenue de Cassalardit, 31300 Toulouse, France; Université Paul Sabatier, route de Narbonne, 31330 Toulouse, France.

Known in less than half a century, borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is a zoonosis caused by the tick bite. It is the most common vector disease in Europe and the United States. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the bacterium in question, is fitted with a "cunning device" that allows it to trick the immune system and implant the infection chronically. Read More

Rev Mal Respir 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Service des maladies respiratoires, hôpital Haut-Lévêque, centre hospitalier universitaire de Bordeaux, 33600 Pessac, France.

Introduction: Lyme disease is not uncommon and can sometimes progress to neurological complications. We report here an unusual case of bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis secondary to Lyme neuroborreliosis.

Case Report: A 79-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit for acute respiratory distress requiring intubation and the long-term use of nocturnal non-invasive ventilation. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2019 Jan 19. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Center for Wildlife Health, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA. Electronic address:

Most people who contract Lyme borreliosis in the eastern United States (US) acquire infection from the bite of the nymphal life stage of the vector tick Ixodes scapularis, which is present in all eastern states. Yet <5% of Lyme borreliosis cases are reported from outside the north-central and northeastern US. Geographical differences in nymphal questing (i. Read More

Trends Parasitol 2019 Jan 21. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Global and Planetary Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.

Body size influences many traits including those that affect host competence, the propensity to cause new infections. Here, we employ a new framework to reveal that, for at least two infections, West Nile virus and Lyme disease, large hosts should be more competent than small ones, but their lower abundance could mitigate their impacts on local risk. By contrast, for rabies, small hosts will be disproportionately more competent than large ones, an effect amplified by the higher densities of small species. Read More

Ter Arkh 2018 Nov;90(11):79-89

N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia.

Borreliosis after sucking ticks is an acute problem in the world. People do not go to doctors after that often, which leads to the development of various complications. Thrombosis of veins of various localization can be one of them. Read More

Parasite Epidemiol Control 2019 Feb 11;4:e00084. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.

Ecosystem Health, Conservation Medicine, EcoHealth, One Health, Planetary Health and GeoHealth are inter-related disciplines that underpin a shared understanding of the functional prerequisites of health, sustainable vitality and wellbeing. All of these are based on recognition that health interconnects species across the planet, and they offer ways to more effectively tackle complex real-world challenges. Herein we present a bibliometric analysis to document usage of a subset of such terms by journals over time. Read More

J Immunol 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211

Infection of mice with causes an inflammatory arthritis that peaks 3-4 wk postinfection and then spontaneously resolves. Although the recruitment of neutrophils is known to drive the development of arthritis, mechanisms of disease resolution remain unclear. Efficient clearance of apoptotic cells (AC) is likely an important component of arthritis resolution. Read More

J Infect Dis 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.

Background: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes (Borrelia) causing Lyme borreliosis are able to disseminate from the initial entry site to distant organs in the host. Outer surface adhesins are crucial in the bacterial dissemination and adhesion to various tissues. Two well-characterized Borrelia adhesins, Decorin binding proteins A and B, have been shown to bind to two host receptors, decorin and biglycan. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2019 Jan 28;12(1):64. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.

Background: Vector-borne pathogens are emerging concerns in multiple regions of Canada. Determining regional prevalence of canine vector-borne pathogens and documenting change will improve clinician awareness, enable targeted prevention, enhance diagnosis and ideally reduce the risk of disease. Study objectives were to: (i) estimate the prevalence of positive canine vector-borne test results from samples submitted in Canada; (ii) assess change in prevalence over time, from baseline (2008) to 2015; and (iii) estimate the prevalence of pathogen co-infections. Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2019 Jan 25. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

Valvular involvement in Lyme disease is rare. Confirmation of Borrelia species as the causative agent by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was done in a few cases in Europe and the US. We describe a case of mitral regurgitation with a preoperative diagnosis of myxomatous mitral valve degeneration. Read More

J Antimicrob Chemother 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.

Med Mal Infect 2019 Jan 24. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

IRD, MEPHI, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Aix-Marseille University, AP-HM, 19-21, boulevard Jean-Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France. Electronic address:

Lyme disease diagnosis is currently based on serology - an indirect diagnostic method - as laboratory cultures are fastidious. The only direct diagnostic method that can be useful with some specimens (cutaneous biopsies or aspiration fluid) is PCR. We aimed to detail the main limitations of serology and PCR testing in the diagnosis of bacterial infections. Read More

Med Mal Infect 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Maladies infectieuses et tropicales, médecine interne, Académie nationale de médecine, 16, rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris, France. Electronic address:

Emerg Infect Dis 2019 Feb;25(2):328-332

Analysis of surveillance data for 2010-2016 in eastern Ontario, Canada, demonstrates the rapid northward spread of Ixodes scapularis ticks and Borrelia burgdorferi, followed by increasing human Lyme disease incidence. Most spread occurred during 2011-2013. Continued monitoring is essential to identify emerging risk areas in this region. Read More

Zoonoses Public Health 2019 Jan 21. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The objective of this study was to determine healthcare costs attributable to laboratory-confirmed Lyme disease (LD) from the healthcare payer perspective in Ontario, Canada. A cost-of-illness study was conducted for incident LD subjects from 1 January 2006 through 31 December 2013 ascertained from provincial laboratory and reportable disease databases, linked to health administrative data. All LD subjects included were laboratory-confirmed, according to provincial case definitions. Read More

J Vet Diagn Invest 2019 Jan 19:1040638718824146. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Departments of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology (Pecoraro, Miller, Duhamel), College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a rare condition in adult horses characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and increased susceptibility to parasitic and bacterial infections, including recurrent respiratory diseases, septicemia, and meningitis. Lyme disease is often included as a differential diagnosis in CVID horses with signs of meningitis; however, the Borrelia burgdorferi organism has not been demonstrated previously within central nervous system tissues of CVID horses with neurologic disease, to our knowledge. We report herein a case of neuroborreliosis in a CVID horse, confirmed by combined immunologic testing, histopathology, real-time PCR assay, fluorescent in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemical staining. Read More

Joint Bone Spine 2019 Jan 17. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Department of Immunology, 2ndFaculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and Motol University Hospital, V Uvalu 84, 150 06, Prague 5, Czech Republic.

In the majority of cases, Lyme disease responds well to antibiotic treatment. Nevertheless, some patients may suffer from chronic nonspecific symptoms such as musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, termed as a post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). Proper understanding and management of PTLDS may prevent from the incorrect diagnosis of patients with autoimmune, neuromuscular or other somatic disorders, where identical symptoms are equally prevalent. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2019 Jan 12. Epub 2019 Jan 12.

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, 12545, United States.

Tick microbiomes may play an important role in pathogen transmission. However, the drivers of microbiome variation are poorly understood, and this limitation has impeded mechanistic understanding of the functions of microbial communities for pathogen acquisition. The goal of this research was to characterize the role of the blood meal host in structuring the microbiome of Ixodes scapularis, the primary vector of Lyme disease in the eastern United States, and to determine if ticks that fed from different host species harbor distinct bacterial communities. Read More

J Neuroinflammation 2019 Jan 19;16(1):13. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Department of Neurology, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.

Background: The chemokine CXCL13 is an intensively investigated biomarker in Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). Its role in other neuroinfections is increasingly recognized but less clear.

Objective: To determine the significance of CXCL13 in established central nervous system (CNS) infections other than LNB by matching cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CXCL13 elevations with severity of the disease course. Read More

Assay Drug Dev Technol 2019 Jan;17(1):3-7

3 David Gebhard LLC, East Lyme, Connecticut.

Comput Biol Med 2019 Feb 18;105:151-156. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Lyme Disease Research Center, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States.

Lyme disease can lead to neurological, cardiac, and rheumatologic complications when untreated. Timely recognition of the erythema migrans rash of acute Lyme disease by patients and clinicians is crucial to early diagnosis and treatment. Our objective in this study was to develop deep learning approaches using deep convolutional neural networks for detecting acute Lyme disease from erythema migrans images of varying quality and acquisition conditions. Read More

Med Mal Infect 2019 Jan 13. Epub 2019 Jan 13.

IRD, SSA, VITROME, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Aix-Marseille university, AP-HM, 19-21, boulevard Jean-Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.

This article is a selective literature review of social science works published on Lyme disease that draws on other articles published on similar health hazards. These works present Lyme borreliosis as an "archetypal" example of modern infectious risks. It is an "invisible" risk resulting from interactions between human activities, ecosystems, and pathogens. Read More

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

The correlation between the Food and Drug Administration-cleared C6 enzyme immunoassay (EIA) C6 index values and a diagnosis of Lyme disease has not been examined. We used pooled patient-level data from 5 studies of adults and children with Lyme disease and control subjects who were tested with the C6 EIA. We constructed a receiver operating characteristic curve using regression clustered by study and measured the area under the curve (AUC) to examine the accuracy of the C6 index values in differentiating between patients with noncutaneous Lyme disease and control subjects. Read More

Korean J Parasitol 2018 Dec 31;56(6):609-613. Epub 2018 Dec 31.

Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 22212, Korea.

Babesiosis, caused by Babesia microti and B. divergens, is transmitted by Ixodid ticks. Symptoms of babesiosis vary from a mild flu-like illness to acute, severe, and sometimes fatal and fulminant disease. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2019 Jan 9. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Tufts University, North Grafton, MA; Imugen, Inc., Norwood, MA.

disease (BMD) is a newly recognized borreliosis that is co-transmitted by ticks wherever Lyme disease is zoonotic. Unlike sensu lato, the agent of Lyme disease, is closely related to relapsing fever spirochetes such as Some authors have suggested that the disease caused by should be considered a hard-tick transmitted relapsing fever, and thus the main mode of confirming a diagnosis for that infection, microscopy to analyze a blood smear, may have clinical utility. To determine whether blood smears may detect in the blood of acute BMD patients, we made standard malariological thick smears from anticoagulated blood samples that were previously determined to be contain this agent (by PCR) and analyzed them for morphological evidence of spirochetes. Read More

IDCases 2019 29;15:e00479. Epub 2018 Dec 29.

Division of Infectious Diseases, North Memorial Health Hospital, Minneapolis, MN, United States.

Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) is a rare, potentially devastating neurological syndrome that has variety of causes, infectious being one of them. Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector borne zoonosis in the United States (U.S. Read More