Rational design of antigens to improve the serodiagnosis of tick-borne borreliosis in central regions of Russia.

Tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease-LD) is caused by pathogenic Borrelia spirochetes that is transmitted through bite of Ixodes ticks to humans and animals. In the Russian Federation, borreliosis registered with an index of 6-7 per 100,000 people annually. In reality, LD morbidity in Russia is much higher because Russian strains develop less erythematous rashes compared to North American strains, thus missed by physicians in most of the early cases, and current serology tests have insufficient sensitivity as well.