Objectives: Lyme borreliosis is a tick-borne disease of increasing incidence and public concern. Our cross-sectional study was aimed at evaluating seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in a group of respondents from Eastern Slovakia.
Methods: In total, 515 blood samples collected in 2013-2016 were analysed with NovaLisaTM, NovaTec - Borrelia IgG/IgM kit (Immunodiagnostica, Dietzenbach, Germany). Positive and equivocal IgG-antibody results were further examined with immunoblotting (LYMECHECK® OPTIMA IgG and IgM kits, BIOSYNEX, France). Data detected by serological methods were matched with those obtained from a questionnaire. Differences between groups by residence/seropositivity were tested by χ test. The effect of socio-demographic and risk factors on seropositivity of IgG antibodies was assessed using binary logistic regression.
Results: IgG antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi were detected in 67 cases (13.01%) and IgM antibodies in 40 cases (7.8%). Previous tick bite had been noted in 67.2% of these seropositive individuals. Higher seropositivity was observed in men and persons aged over 61 years. Rural residents had higher seropositivity (39%) than those living in urban (29%) areas. Very few of these seropositive persons reported prior symptoms.
Conclusion: The study reveals that IgG-seropositivity for Borrelia burgdorferi in Eastern Slovakia is predominant in men and occurs mainly in rural areas. The findings also suggest that exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi (with subsequent antibody response in serum) does occur, mostly without giving rise to clinical Lyme borreliosis.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.21101/cejph.a6808 | DOI Listing |
PLoS Pathog
December 2024
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.
Borrelia (or Borreliella) burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is a motile and invasive zoonotic pathogen adept at navigating between its arthropod vector and mammalian host. While motility and chemotaxis are well known to be essential for its enzootic cycle, the role of each methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) in the infectious cycle of B. burgdorferi remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Infect Dis J
December 2024
From the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Stony Brook Children's Hospital, Stony Brook, New York.
We conducted an exploratory study of plasma microbial cell-free DNA sequencing for the diagnosis of Lyme disease among pediatric patients. Low levels of Borrelia burgdorferi microbial cell-free DNA (<3-5 molecules per microliter) were observed in 6/9 serologically confirmed participants, including 4/5 with arthritis and 2/3 with multiple erythema migrans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroorganisms
November 2024
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
Hard ticks (family Ixodidae) are one of the most predominant arthropod disease vectors worldwide, second only to mosquitoes. In addition to harboring animal and human pathogens, ticks are known to carry a microbial community constituted of non-pathogenic organisms, which includes maternally inherited intracellular endosymbionts and other environmentally acquired extracellular microorganisms. These microbial communities, which include bacteria, viruses, protozoans, and fungi-with often commensal, mutualistic, or parasitic associations with the tick-comprise the tick microbiome, bacteria being the most studied community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogens
November 2024
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB E1A 3E9, Canada.
Tick-borne pathogens are growing in importance for human and veterinary research worldwide. We developed, optimized, and validated a reliable quantitative PCR (qPCR; real-time PCR) assay to assess Borrelia burgdorferi infection by targeting two B. burgdorferi genes, and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogens
November 2024
Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. Recent environmental and socioecological changes have led to an increased incidence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, which enhances the urgency of identifying and mitigating adverse outcomes of Lyme disease exposure. Lyme disease during pregnancy, especially when untreated, may lead to adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes; however, long-term child outcomes following utero exposure to Lyme disease have not yet been systematically assessed.
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