All Posts Tagged With: "Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato"

Linda’s comment:  There are so many different types of European Lyme Borreliosis in whom borreliae were isolated from the blood are rare and nearly exclusively is limited to those ith solitary or mltiple erythema migrans.

Link: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=21153429&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks 

Excerpt:

CONCLUSIONS: In European patients with Lyme borreliosis, borreliae can be
cultured from the blood not only early in the course of the disease but also
occasionally later during disease progression.

Simultaneous presence of A. phagocytophilum and different genospecies of B.
burgdorferi s.l. complex was recorded in 16 ticks, co-infection with
different B. burgdorferi s. l. genospecies was found in 15 ticks and eight
ticks harbored mixed infections with F. tularensis and B. burgdorferi s.l.
genospecies. Less common were triple pathogen species infections, detected
in three ticks, one infected with A. phagocytophilum / B. burgdorferi s.s. /
B. lusitaniae and two infected with F. tularensis / B. burgdorferi s.s. / B.
lusitaniae. No mixed infections of A. phagocytophilum and F. tularensis were
detected.

Linda comment:  To investigate whether Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) infection is associated with mortality in mountain hares, tissues and ticks collected from hares were investigated for infection with the spirochete. mountain  hare to some degree functions as a transmission host for B. burgdorferi s.s. and Borrelia sp. SV1.

Excerpt:

Our results indicate that disseminated Borrelia infection in 
hares rarely occurs and, presumably, does not play a central role in the 
suspected population decline. The results also suggest that the mountain 
hare to some degree functions as a transmission host for B. burgdorferi 
s.s. and Borrelia sp. SV1.

Link: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=21142958&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

Abstract Thirty-two strains of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were isolated
from Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato collected from northeastern China from May to
June in 2004 and 2005. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)
analysis and sequence analysis of 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer revealed
that 29 (90.6%) belonged to Borrelia garinii, demonstrating B, C, and a
unique pattern. The remaining three isolates (9.4%) were Borrelia afzelii
with pattern D. The phylogenetic analysis based on 5S-23S rRNA intergenic
spacer showed that B.
garinii and B. afzelii genospecies clustered into two separate lineages. B.
garinii strains were classified into three different branches: All the
strains with RFLP pattern C were in the same branch, strain VH10 with a
unique RFLP pattern clustered with strains VH9 and MDH2 with pattern B, and
the rest of the strains with pattern B constitute another branch. These
findings demonstrate the genetic diversity of B. burgdorferi sensu lato
isolates from northeastern China.

Link: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=21040576&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

RESULTS: A total of 4,664 patients were tested. The IgM and IgG
seropositivity rates were 9.2% and 3.3%, respectively.
Questionnaires from 2,643 (57%) patients were available for
analysis. Erythema migrans (EM) was suspected in 38% of patients,
Lyme arthritis/disseminated disease in 23% and early
neuroborreliosis in 13%. Age 0-15 years and suspected EM were
significant predictors of IgM seropositivity, whereas suspected
acrodermatitis was a predictor of IgG seropositivity. LB was
suspected in 646 patients with arthritis, but only 2.3% were IgG
seropositive. This is comparable to the level of seropositivity
in the background population indicating that Lyme arthritis is a
rare entity in Denmark, and *the low pretest probability should
alert general practitioners to the possibility of false positive
LB serology*. 
Significant predictors for treating the patient were a reported
tick bite and suspected EM.

CONCLUSIONS: A detailed description of the utilization of
serology for Lyme borreliosis with rates of seropositivity
according to clinical symptoms is presented. Low rates of
seropositivity in certain patient groups indicate a low pretest
probability and there is a notable risk of false positive
results. 38% of all patients tested were suspected of EM,
although this is not a recommended indication due to a low
sensitivity of serological testing.

Full article: http://www.springerlink.com/content/e44520883374r21k/

Excerpt:

Conclusion  

Clinical symptoms and signs of neuroborrelial ATM may be minimal, even in cases with severe involvement of the spine, as shown by imaging studies. The CSF/blood index can be negative in the early stages and does not exclude Lyme neuroborreliosis; if there is strong clinical suspicion of Lyme neuroborreliosis, appropriate treatment should be started and the CSF/blood index repeated to confirm the diagnosis.

Excerpt:

Ecological changes are recognized as an important driver behind
the emergence of infectious diseases. The prevalence of infection
in ticks depends upon ecological factors that are rarely taken
into account simultaneously. Our objective was to investigate the
influence of forest fragmentation, vegetation, adult tick hosts,
and habitat on the infection prevalence of three tick-borne
bacteria – Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma
phagocytophilum, and Rickettsia sp of the Spotted Fever Group –
in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks, taking into account tick
characteristics. Questing nymphs and adults were sampled in 61
pastures and neighbouring woodlands in central France. Ticks were
tested by PCR by pools of nymphs and individual adults. The
individual infection prevalence was modeled using multivariate
regression.

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20453131&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, carried by Ixodes ticks, is one of the most significant human pathogens, causing Lyme disease. As there is no standardized PCR method for detection and identification of spirochaete DNA, we carried out a comparative analysis using a set of complementary primers for three regions in the genomic DNA of these bacteria (genes fla and rrs and the non-coding rrs–rrlA region). DNA extracted from 579 Ixodes ricinus ticks was subjected to nested PCR. DNA of the examined spirochaetes was detected in 43 (7.4 %) lysates when the fla gene was used as a molecular marker, in 7 (1.2 %) lysates when using primers complementary to the rrs gene, and in 12 (2.1 %) lysates using primers complementary to the non-coding rrs–rrlA sequence. RFLP analysis based on the fla gene helped identify species from the B. burgdorferi sensu lato complex (B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana), detect co-infections, and also identify Borrelia miyamotoi. Therefore, the fla gene is the most sensitive and specific molecular marker for the detection and identification of Borrelia spirochaetes in I. ricinus.

Excerpt:

A group of 16 isolates with genotypic characteristics different
from those of known species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato
(sl) complex were cultured from ear biopsies of the rodents
Peromyscus gossypinus and Neotoma floridana trapped at 5
localities in South Carolina, United States. Multilocus sequence
analysis involving 16S rRNA, 5S-23S (rrf-rrl) intergenic spacer
region, flagellin, ospA and p66 genes was used to clarify the
taxonomic status of the new group of B.
burgdorferi sl isolates. Phylogenetic analysis based on
concatenated sequences of 5 analyzed genomic loci showed that the
16 isolates clustered together but separately from the other
species in the B. burgdorferi sl complex. The analyzed group
therefore represents a new species, for which the name Borrelia
carolinensis was proposed, with the type strain Borrelia
carolinensis strain SCW-22T (=ATCC BAA-1773T =DSMZ 22119 T).
Multilocus sequence analysis of new species was conducted and
published previously. Here we present the formal description of
Borrelia carolinensis sp. nov., isolated from rodents and tick
from southeastern United States.

Excerpt:

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the causative agent
of Lyme borreliosis in humans. This inflammatory disease can
affect the skin, the peripheral and central nervous system, the
musculoskeletal and cardiovascular system and rarely the eyes.
Early stages are directly associated with viable bacteria at the
site of inflammation. The pathogen-host interaction is complex
and has been elucidated only in part. B. burgdorferi is highly
susceptible to antibiotic treatment and the majority of patients
profit from this treatment