Lyme borreliosis

Author(s):  
Andreas Krause ◽  
Volker Fingerle

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a multisystem infectious disease caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. The most frequent clinical manifestations include erythema migrans, meningoplyneuritis, and arthritis. Diagnosis of LB is made on clinical grounds and usually supported by a positive serology. Early diagnosis and treatment almost always leads to a rapid healing of the disease. However, in late manifestations gradual remission of symptoms may take several weeks to months. In rare cases, the pathogen can persist for many years or induce a persisting immunopathological response that may cause acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, chronic neuroborreliosis of the central nervous system, or antibiotic resistant Lyme arthritis. However, even these chronic manifestations usually slowly regress after thorough antibiotic and symptomatic therapy, although in part with irreversible organ defects.

Author(s):  
Andreas Krause ◽  
Volker Fingerle

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a multisystem infectious disease caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. The most frequent clinical manifestations include erythema migrans, meningoplyneuritis, and arthritis. Diagnosis of LB is made on clinical grounds and usually supported by a positive serology. Early diagnosis and treatment almost always leads to a rapid healing of the disease. However, in late manifestations gradual remission of symptoms may take several weeks to months. In rare cases, the pathogen can persist for many years or induce a persisting immunopathological response that may cause acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, chronic neuroborreliosis of the central nervous system, or antibiotic resistant Lyme arthritis. However, even these chronic manifestations usually slowly regress after thorough antibiotic and symptomatic therapy, although in part with irreversible organ defects.


Author(s):  
Andreas Krause ◽  
Volker Fingerle

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a multisystem infectious disease caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. The most frequent clinical manifestations include erythema migrans, meningoplyneuritis, and arthritis. Diagnosis of LB is made on clinical grounds and usually supported by a positive serology. Early diagnosis and treatment almost always leads to a rapid healing of the disease. However, in late manifestations gradual remission of symptoms may take several weeks to months. In rare cases, the pathogen can persist for many years or induce a persisting immunopathological response that may cause acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, chronic neuroborreliosis of the central nervous system, or antibiotic resistant Lyme arthritis. However, even these chronic manifestations usually slowly regress after thorough antibiotic and symptomatic therapy, although in part with irreversible organ defects.


Author(s):  
Andreas Krause ◽  
Volker Fingerle

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a multisystem infectious disease caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. The most frequent clinical manifestations include erythema migrans, meningoplyneuritis, and arthritis. Diagnosis of LB is made on clinical grounds and usually supported by a positive serology. Early diagnosis and treatment almost always leads to a rapid healing of the disease. However, in disseminated manifestations gradual remission of symptoms may take several weeks to months. In rare cases, the pathogen can persist for many years, causing acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, chronic neuroborreliosis of the central nervous system, or Lyme arthritis. Moreover, the infection may induce a persisting immunopathological response, resulting in ‘antibiotic-resistant’ Lyme arthritis. However, even these chronic manifestations usually slowly regress after thorough antibiotic and symptomatic therapy, although in part with irreversible organ defects.


2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Nygård ◽  
A B Brantsaeter ◽  
R Mehl

Lyme borreliosis is the most common tickborne infection in Norway. All clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis other than erythema migrans are notifiable to Folkehelseinstituttet, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. During the period 1995-2004 a total of 1506 cases of disseminated and chronic Lyme borreliosis were reported. Serological tests were the basis for laboratory diagnosis in almost all cases. The annual numbers of cases showed no clear trend over the period, but varied each year between 120 and 253 cases, with the highest number of cases reported in 2004. Seventy five per cent of cases with information on time of onset were in patients who fell ill during the months of June to October. There was marked geographical variation in reported incidence rates, with the highest rates reported from coastal counties in southern and central Norway. Fifty six per cent of the cases were in males and 44% in females. The highest incidence rate was found in children aged between 5 and 9 years. Neuroborreliosis was the most common clinical manifestation (71%), followed by arthritis/arthralgia (22%) and acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (5%). Forty six per cent of patients were admitted to hospital. Prevention of borreliosis in Norway relies on measures to prevent tick bites, such as use of protective clothing and insect repellents, and early detection and removal of ticks. Antibiotics are generally not recommended for prophylaxis after tick bites in Norway.


2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
W H Mehnert ◽  
G Krause

Lyme borreliosis is a potentially serious infection common in Germany, but little data about its incidence, distribution, and clinical manifestations are available. Lyme borreliosis is not a notifiable disease in Germany, but six of Germany’s 16 states – Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen, have enhanced notification systems, which do include Lyme borreliosis. The efforts made in these states to monitor confirmed cases through notification are therefore an important contribution to understanding the epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis in Germany. This report summarises the analysis of Lyme borreliosis cases submitted to the Robert Koch-Institut during 2002-2003. The average incidence of Lyme borreliosis of the six East German states was 17.8 cases per 100 000 population in 2002 and increased by 31% to 23.3 cases in 2003, respectively. Patient ages were bimodally distributed, with incidence peaks among children aged 5- 9 and elderly patients, aged 60- 64 in 2002, and 65- 69 in 2003. For both years, 55% of patients were female. Around 86% of notified cases occurred from May to October. Erythema migrans affected 2697 patients (89.3%) in 2002 and 3442 (86.7%) in 2003. For a vector-borne disease, like Lyme borreliosis, the risk of infection depends on the degree and duration of contact between humans and ticks harbouring Borrelia burgdorferi. As infectious ticks probably occur throughout Germany, it is likely that the situation in the remaining 10 German states is similar to that of the states in this study.


2011 ◽  
pp. 138-143
Author(s):  
Margarita María Suárez ◽  
Mussatyé Elorza ◽  
Jorge Hernando Donado ◽  
Luis Alfredo Londoño ◽  
David Andrés Espinal

Introduction: Infection by Mycoplasma pneumoniae is becoming more frequent at younger ages. It appears as a generally benign and unspecific clinical condition of respiratory symptoms and sometimes responsible for a broad spectrum of extrapulmonary manifestations. Objective: To describe demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment characteristics of pediatric-age patients with positive serology for M. pneumoniae diagnosed at the Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital (HPTU) during the 2006-2008 period. Materials and methods: Observational, retrospective study, which describes the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment characteristics of patients from 1 month to 14 years of age with positive IgM for M. pneumoniae seen at HPTU during September 2006 and November 2008. Results: We reviewed 305 clinical charts of patients with positive IgM for M. pneumoniae. The average age was 5.15 years ± 3.62 SD. Cough (87.5%), fever (65.9%), rhinorrea (39.3%), and respiratory difficulty (38%) were the most frequent clinical findings. Extrapulmonary compromise was mainly manifested in the skin (12.8%), the central nervous system (CNS) (3.6%), and osteomuscular system (3.9%). Auscultation and thoracic X-ray were normal in 33.1% and 30.8% of the patients, respectively. Episodes of asthma exacerbation were related to infection by Mycoplasma in 35% of the cases. A total of 51% of the patients required hospitalization with an average stay of seven days. All the patients received antibiotic treatment; clarithromycin (75.8%) was the antibiotic of choice. Conclusion: Infection by M. pneumoniae has a broad range of clinical manifestations, requiring a high index of clinical suspicion and an active search for extrapulmonary compromise given that in our realm there is no specific diagnostic method for the acute infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1872
Author(s):  
Merle Margarete Böhmer ◽  
Katharina Ens ◽  
Stefanie Böhm ◽  
Susanne Heinzinger ◽  
Volker Fingerle

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease in Germany. Mandatory notification of acute LB manifestations (erythema migrans (EM), neuroborreliosis (NB), and Lyme arthritis (LA)) was implemented in Bavaria on 1 March 2013. We aimed to describe the epidemiological situation and to identify LB risk areas and populations. Therefore, we analyzed LB cases notified from March 2013 to December 2020 and calculated incidence (cases/100,000 inhabitants) by time, place, and person. Overall, 35,458 cases were reported during the study period (EM: 96.7%; NB: 1.7%; LA: 1.8%). The average incidence was 34.3/100,000, but annual incidence varied substantially (2015: 23.2; 2020: 47.4). Marked regional differences at the district level were observed (annual average incidence range: 4–154/100,000). The Bavarian Forest and parts of Franconia were identified as high-risk regions. Additionally, high risk for LB was found in 5–9-year-old males and in 60–69-year-old females. The first group also had the highest risk of a severe disease course. We were able to identify areas and populations in Bavaria with an increased LB risk, thereby providing a basis for targeted measures to prevent LB. Since LB vaccination is currently not available, such measures should comprise (i) avoiding tick bites, (ii) removing ticks rapidly after a bite, and (iii) treating LB early/adequately.


1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 3474-3479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne J. Mathiesen ◽  
Michael Christiansen ◽  
Klaus Hansen ◽  
Arne Holm ◽  
Eva Åsbrink ◽  
...  

Sera from 210 patients with Lyme borreliosis (LB) were studied by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on a synthetic peptide (pepC10) comprising the C-terminal 10-amino-acid residues of OspC of Borrelia burgdorferi. We found that 36.3 and 45.0% of the serum samples from patients with erythema migrans (EM) and neuroborreliosis (NB), respectively, displayed immunoglobulin M (IgM) anti-pepC10 reactivities, while these samples rarely (≤8%) displayed IgG antibody reactivities. Sera from patients with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans did not contain anti-pepC10 antibodies. The diagnostic performance of this newly developed peptide ELISA was compared with those of an ELISA based on the full-length recombinant OspC protein (rOspC) and a commercially available ELISA based on theB. burgdorferi flagellum (Fla). The sensitivity of the IgM pepC10 ELISA was slightly lower (P < 0.04) than that of the rOspC ELISA for EM patients (36.3 versus 43.8%), while there was no difference for NB patients (45.0 versus 48.0%). However, the optical density values obtained by the pepC10 ELISA were generally higher than those obtained by the rOspC ELISA, leading to a significantly better quantitative discrimination between seropositive patients with NB and controls (P < 0.008). The specificity of the pepC10 ELISA was similar to those of the rOspC ELISA and the Fla ELISA for relevant controls including patients with syphilis and mononucleosis. Although the overall diagnostic sensitivity of the Fla ELISA was superior, 8.8 and 12.0% of the EM and NB patients, respectively, were antibody positive only by the pepC10 ELISA. Thus, use of a diagnostic test for LB based on the detection of IgM antibodies to pepC10 and Fla has increased sensitivity for the diagnosis of early LB.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 4621-4628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Müllegger ◽  
Terry K. Means ◽  
Junghee J. Shin ◽  
Marshall Lee ◽  
Kathryn L. Jones ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The three skin disorders of Lyme borreliosis in Europe include erythema migrans, an acute, self-limited lesion; borrelial lymphocytoma, a subacute lesion; and acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, a chronic lesion. Using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, we determined mRNA expression of selected chemokines, cytokines, and leukocyte markers in skin samples from 100 patients with erythema migrans, borrelial lymphocytoma, or acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans and from 25 control subjects. Chemokine patterns in lesional skin in each of the three skin disorders included low but significant mRNA levels of the neutrophil chemoattractant CXCL1 and the dendritic cell chemoattractant CCL20 and intermediate levels of the macrophage chemoattractant CCL2. Erythema migrans and particularly acrodermatitis lesions had high mRNA expression of the T-cell-active chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 and low levels of the B-cell-active chemokine CXCL13, whereas lymphocytoma lesions had high levels of CXCL13 and lower levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10. This pattern of chemokine expression was consistent with leukocyte marker mRNA in lesional skin. Moreover, using immunohistologic methods, CD3+ T cells and CXCL9 were visualized in erythema migrans and acrodermatitis lesions, and CD20+ B cells and CXCL13 were seen in lymphocytoma lesions. Thus, erythema migrans and acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans have high levels of the T-cell-active chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10, whereas borrelial lymphocytoma has high levels of the B-cell-active chemokine CXCL13.


1991 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond J Dattwyler ◽  
Benjamin J Luft

Lyme disease, caused by the spirocheteBorrelia burgdorferi,has classically been divided into three stages: erythema migrans; neurological or cardiac involvement; and arthritis. Rather than defining a set disease pattern, however, one should, more logically, conceptualize a progressive infection that may be localized or disseminated, acute or chronic. Erythema migrans, the earliest and most easily recognized manifestation ofB burgdorferiinfection, is an expanding annular erythematous skin lesion with a central clearing that develops soon after the bite of an infected ixodes tick. Musculoskeletal manifestations are common, with approximately one-half of untreated individuals developing arthritis. Of these, only 10% have chronic arthritis. Invasion of the central nervous system occurs as the infection disseminates hematogenously, with encephalitis, myelitis and meningopolyneuritis being the most severe results. Acute cardiac involvement is recognized in up to 8% of adult patients, and less often in children. Early antibiotic treatment of the infection is highly effective.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document