Erythema Migrans Research Articles

CME: Musculoskeletal Manifestations of Lyme Disease

CME: Musculoskeletal Manifestations of Lyme Disease Abstract. Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in Switzerland and Lyme arthritis the most prevalent manifestation of late-stage Lyme disease. It presents as a monoarthitis or oligoarthritis in large joints, often involving the knee. Such a clinical presentation, together with positive Lyme serologies or polymerase chain reactions from synovial fluid/tissue, is considered diagnostic. If there is no tick bite or erythema migrans in the patient's history the diagnosis can be challenging due to the many differential diagnoses. The initial treatment is a prolonged course of oral antibiotics.

CME/Answers: Musculoskeletal Manifestations of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in Switzerland and Lyme arthritis the most prevalent manifestation of late-stage Lyme disease. It presents as a monoarthitis or oligoarthritis in large joints, often involving the knee. Such a clinical presentation, together with positive Lyme serologies or polymerase chain reactions from synovial fluid/tissue, is considered diagnostic. If there is no tick bite or erythema migrans in the patient's history the diagnosis can be challenging due to the many differential diagnoses. The initial treatment is a prolonged course of oral antibiotics.

Infections with Tickborne Pathogens after Tick Bite, Austria, 2015-2018.

Abstract The aim of this prospective study was to assess the risk for tickborne infections after a tick bite. A total of 489 persons bitten by 1,295 ticks were assessed for occurrence of infections with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Babesia spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, and relapsing fever borreliae. B. burgdorferi s.l. infection was found in 25 (5.1%) participants, of whom 15 had erythema migrans. Eleven (2.3%) participants were positive by PCR for Candidatus N. mikurensis. One asymptomatic participant infected with B. miyamotoi was identified. Full engorgement of the tick (odds ratio 9.52) and confirmation of B. burgdorferi s.l. in the tick by PCR (odds ratio 4.39) increased the risk for infection. Rickettsia helvetica was highly abundant in ticks but not pathogenic to humans. Knowledge about the outcome of tick bites is crucial because infections with emerging pathogens might be underestimated because of limited laboratory facilities.

Lyme disease: "End of the debate?"

Lyme borreliosis is a tick-borne disease that is widespread throughout the northern hemisphere. Ixodes ricinus is present throughout metropolitan France, except for the Mediterranean region. The debate revolves around whether or not a chronic form of Lyme disease exists. This controversy is not limited to France but has been reported worldwide. In France, in 2019, 24 scientific societies representing the medical disciplines most involved in Lyme disease, including the Société Française de Rhumatologie (French Rheumatology Society [SFR]) and the Société de Pathologie Infectieuse de la Langue Française (French Infectious Disease Society-SPILF), published recommendations on the management of Lyme borreliosis following a submission to the Director General of Health. These recommendations conflict with those of the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS), a multi-specialties independent group of physician, on a key point: whether to add a new nosological entity labeled as "persistent polymorphous signs and symptoms (or syndrome) possibly due to tick bite." The creation of this new syndrome risks should increase anchoring bias, leading to the attribution of all symptoms to a possible tick bite, without considering differential diagnoses. Lyme disease has been extensively studied. Erythema migrans is the primary clinical manifestation. In the presence of nonmetabolic, nonseptic monoarthritis involving the knee or radiculitis of a lower limb during the summer, Lyme disease should be suspected. Serologic testing for Lyme disease is reliable in the case of late forms such as chronic arthritis, while the detection of Borrelia DNA in synovial fluid by PCR is inconsistent. Sometimes, the serology can be misleading in early forms such as radiculitis. Treatment is based on doxycycline for 14 days in early forms (radiculitis), or 28 days in late forms (arthritis). Arthritis can persist or recur after antibiotic therapy. The prevalence of a diffuse polyalgia syndrome (fibromyalgia) following Lyme disease does not seem to differ much from that in the general population. It is not improved by prolonged antibiotic therapy, which is therefore not recommended.

Serological Surveillance of Hospitalized Patients for Lyme Borreliosis in Ukraine.

Objectives: Although in Ukraine the incidence of Lyme borreliosis (LB) has been surging up over the past decades, seroepidemiologic data are not available to date. The objective of this report was to perform preliminary serological survey of hospitalized population for LB.Methods: Sera were collected from 203 patients of a hospital located in Western Ukraine. Most patients showed clinical signs that were compatible with LB such as arthritis (n = 29), neurological signs (n = 35), and erythema migrans (EM)-like lesions (n = 60) or unrelated to LB (n = 79). The specimens were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot for anti-Borrelia antibodies.Results: LB was confirmed in 8.6%, 34.5%, and 50% of the patients, who exhibited neurological signs, arthritis, or EM-like lesions, respectively. Anti-Borrelia antibodies were also detected in 6.3% of the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.Conclusions: This study provides the first preliminary data on the seroprevalence of LB in Ukraine. Future studies are warranted to investigate more subsets of the Ukrainian population for this emerging tick-borne disease.

The chemotactic cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neuroborreliosis

BackgroundThe outcome of neuroborreliosis (NB) is variable and may partially depend on host-related immune factors. In NB, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contains a large population of T lymphocytes, but the mechanisms and consequences of their recruitment have not been fully elucidated. We have studied expression of T lymphocyte chemoattractant cytokines in association with CSF cytometric parameters and clinical data in NB patients. MethodsThe blood and CSF of 17 patients with NB and blood of 12 patients with erythema migrans (EM) were obtained before the antibiotic administration, and in fraction of NB patients during and/or after antibiotic treatment. The control samples came from blood donors (blood) and patients in whom neuroinfection was excluded by a lumbar puncture (CSF). Concentrations of IL-16, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, CCL2 and CCL5 in serum and CSF were measured with commercial ELISA. Data were analyzed with non-parametric tests, p < 0.05 considered significant. ResultsThe serum concentrations of IL-16, CXCL9, CXCL10 and CCL5 were increased, higher in NB than in EM. In CSF all the cytokines were upregulated, CXCL10, CXCL9 and IL-16 over ten-fold. The CSF concentration index favored the intrathecal synthesis of all the cytokines except CCL5, for which it could not be reliably estimated. CCL2, CXCL10 and CXCL9 created concentration gradients towards CSF. The intrathecal expression of IL-16, CCL5 and CXCL9 correlated with CSF lymphocyte counts, of IL-16, CXCL9 and CXCL10 - with a blood-brain barrier disruption, and of CXCL9 and CXCL10 with intrathecal specific IgG synthesis. The expression of CCL2, CXCL10 and CXCL11 peaked early after NB onset and decreased naturally afterwards. High initial CSF CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11 levels associated with a persistent CSF pleocytosis and BBB disruption after treatment, but no cytokine was predictive of clinical outcome. In follow up (post-treatment) examinations, CSF CXCL10 and CCL5 associated positively and CCL2 negatively with a protracted lymphocytic pleocytosis. ConclusionsSeveral cytokines chemotactic for T lymphocytes are upregulated intrathecally in NB, with different dynamics and relation to other inflammatory parameters, suggesting their distinct pathogenetic roles. CXCL10 and CXCL9 are vividly upregulated and seem deeply involved in the pathogenesis of the intrathecal inflammation. IL-16 and CCL5 may directly drive T lymphocyte migration from periphery, but their ability to create an adequate chemotactic gradient remains to be confirmed. A delayed normalization of pleocytosis is accompanied by higher intrathecal expression of Th1-related and lower of Th2-related chemokines, in agreement with the protective role of Th1 to Th2 transition in the course of NB.

A comprehensive clinical and laboratory evaluation of 224 patients with persistent symptoms attributed to presumed tick-bite exposure.

BackgroundPersistent symptoms attributed to presumed tick-bite exposure constitute an unresolved medical controversy. We evaluated whether Swedish adults who met the criteria for post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) exhibited characteristics distinguishable from adults who did not, but who displayed similar symptoms and disease course after suspected previous tick-bite infection (TBI).Methods and findingsDuring 2015–2018, 255 patients–referred to the Centre for Vector-borne Infections, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden with symptoms lasting longer than six months–were recruited. Of this group, 224 completed the study. Each patient was examined by an infectious disease specialist and, besides a full medical history, underwent a panel of blood and cerebrospinal fluid laboratory tests including hematological, biochemical, microbiological and immunological analyses, and the RAND-36 scale to measure quality of life. For analysis purposes, patients were divided into five subgroups, of which one represented PTLDS. According to serological results indicating TBI and documented/ reported objective signs of Lyme disease, 85 (38%) patients fulfilled the criteria for PTLDS and were compared with the other 139 (62%) serologically classified patients. In the PTLDS group, erythema chronicum migrans (ECM) was documented/reported in 86% of patients, previous neuroborreliosis in 15%, and acrodermatitis chronica atroficans (ACA) in 3.5%. However, there were no significant differences regarding symptoms, laboratory results or disease course between patients with PTLDS and those without laboratory evidence of Borrelia exposition. Most reported symptoms were fatigue-related (70%), musculoskeletal (79%), neurological (82%) and neurocognitive (57%). Tick bites were recalled by 74%. The RAND-36 score was significantly below that of the general Swedish population. Signs of immunological/inflammatory reactivity with myositis antibodies were detected in 20% of patients, fibrinogen levels were moderately increased in 21% and elevated rheumatoid factor in 6%.ConclusionsThe PTLDS group did not differ exclusively in any respect from the other subgroups, which either lacked previously documented/reported evidence of borreliosis or even lacked detectable serological signs of exposure to Lyme disease. The results suggest that symptoms often categorized as Chronic-Lyme-Disease (CLD) in the general debate, cannot be uniquely linked to Lyme disease. However, approximately 20% of the total group of patients showed signs of autoimmunity. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying causes and mechanisms of PTLDS and there is reason to consider a multifactorial approach.

The presenting characteristics of erythema migrans vary by age, sex, duration, and body location.

The erythema migrans (EM) skin lesion is often the first clinical sign of Lyme disease. Significant variability in EM presenting characteristics such as shape, color, pattern, and homogeneity, has been reported. We studied associations between these presenting characteristics, as well as whether they were associated with age, sex, EM duration, body location, and initiation of antibiotics. Two hundred and seventy one adult participants with early Lyme disease who had a physician-diagnosed EM skin lesion of ≥ 5cm in diameter and ≤ 72h of antibiotic treatment were enrolled. Participant demographics, clinical characteristics, and characteristics of their primary EM lesion were recorded. After adjusting for potential confounders, EM size increased along with increasing EM duration to a peak of 14days. Male EM were found to be on average 2.18cm larger than female EM. The odds of a red (vs blue/red) EM were 65% lower in males compared to females, and were over 3 times as high for EM found on the pelvis, torso, or arm compared to the leg. Age remained a significant predictor of central clearing in adjusted models; for every 10-year increase in age, the odds of central clearing decreased 25%. Given that EM remains a clinical diagnosis, it is essential that both physicians and the general public are aware of its varied manifestations. Our findings suggest possible patterns within this variability, with implications for prompt diagnosis and treatment initiation, as well as an understanding of the clinical spectrum of EM.

Evaluation of selected variables to determine if any had predictive value for, or correlated with, residual symptoms at approximately 12 months after diagnosis and treatment of early Lyme disease

Subjective symptoms may persist after antibiotic treatment of patients with erythema migrans. Selected baseline variables were evaluated to determine if any correlated with symptom persistence to 12 months (PTLDS). Tingling or an abnormal skin sensation were reported by 5 (71.4%) of the 7 PTLDS cases at the baseline visit versus 4 (13.3%) of the 30 initially symptomatic subjects without PTLDS (P= 0.005). The frequency of having a total score of ≥17, when the Beck Depression Inventory score was added to the number of pain sites that the subject reported at the baseline visit, also showed a significant difference: 71.4% versus 10%, P= 0.002. All but 1 of the 7 subjects with possible PTLDS had either a total score of at least 17 on these 2 measures combined or had a score of ≥2 on the stress event questionnaire used. Clinical investigations should be conducted to validate these findings with other patient cohorts.

First Data on Human Lyme Borreliosis in Kosovo: Prospective Evaluation of the Disease from a Tick Bite Perspective.

Purpose: Lyme borreliosis (LB) occurs throughout Europe. No clinical and seroprevalence studies for LB in Kosovo have been publicly available thus far. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate LB from a tick bite perspective in the Pristina region, Kosovo. Methods: This single-center prospective observational study enrolled consecutive adult participants (≥18 years of age) with tick bite (embedded tick in the skin), who were examined at the Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Pristina, between January 2015 and August 2018. At the first visit related to the index tick bite, ticks (the complete ticks or parts of the ticks) were removed from the skin, blood samples were taken for serological tests, and antibiotic treatment was started when deemed necessary. The complete, undamaged ticks removed were proceeded for entomological identification. Participants were followed up at 2 months (serological tests were repeated) and 6 months after the index event for the development of clinical manifestations of LB and/or seroconversion against Borrelia burgdorferi. Results: A total of 380 subjects were included in the study. Most cases were seen in May and June in all study years. All 117 preserved ticks were identified as Ixodes ricinus. Immunoglobulin G seroprevalence among subjects during the first visit in the study was 28/380 (7.4%). Erythema migrans (EM) was clinically diagnosed in 74/380 patients (19.5%, 95% confidence interval 15.6-23.8). Only 15 clinically diagnosed EM (in seronegative patients) were serologically confirmed with seroconversion (2 months later), 3.9% of all subjects included in the study. There were three cases with clinical manifestation between the second and third visit: EM recidivans, multiple erythema, or several nonspecific systemic symptoms. Doxycycline and amoxicillin were mainly used for the treatment of borrelial skin lesions. Conclusion: This assessment can help indicate the need for disease awareness and reinforce the importance of primary prevention measures, early diagnosis, and appropriate treatment.

Clinical practice guidelines by the infectious diseases society of America (IDSA), American academy of neurology (AAN), and american college of rheumatology (acr): 2020 guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lyme disease

This evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease was developed by a multidisciplinary panel representing the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The scope of this guideline includes prevention of Lyme disease, and the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease presenting as erythema migrans, Lyme disease complicated by neurologic, cardiac, and rheumatologic manifestations, Eurasian manifestations of Lyme disease, and Lyme disease complicated by coinfection with other tick-borne pathogens. This guideline does not include comprehensive recommendations for babesiosis and tick-borne rickettsial infections, which are published in separate guidelines. The target audience for this guideline includes primary care physicians and specialists caring for this condition such as infectious diseases specialists, emergency physicians, internists, pediatricians, family physicians, neurologists, rheumatologists, cardiologists and dermatologists in North America.

Ceftriaxone and Doxycycline induced Seroconversion in Previously Seronegative Patient with Clinically Suspected Disseminated Lyme Disease: Case Report

We present a case of middle-aged woman whose health problems began 3 months after a registered tick bite in endemic area of Lyme borreliosis. First symptoms included fatigue, chills, cervical lymphadenopathy, neck pain and stiffness. Patient was afebrile. Lyme disease was excluded due to lack of erythema migrans and negative enzyme immunoassay test results for anti-Borrelia antibodies. During the next few months, her condition was getting worse and symptoms were accompanied with brain fog, dizziness, palpitations, irregular menstrual cycles, insomnia, panic attacks, headaches, and muscle aches. This led to multiple medical tests and examinations, but the diagnosis failed to be established. Finally, after occurrence of paresthesia and weakness of leg muscles, clinical diagnosis of disseminated Lyme borreliosis with nervous system involvement was suspected and antibiotic therapy was initiated. After the second dose of ceftriaxone, patient got fever and her condition worsened. However, ceftriaxone therapy was continued for a total of 5 days and was followed by 4 weeks of doxycycline therapy. Upon completion of antibiotic therapy, high specific anti-Borrelia antibodies were detected by Western blot and SeraSpot. Appearance of anti-Borrelia antibodies, in contrast to negative test results performed immediately before the therapy started, indicated seroconversion. 18 months after the therapy, patient was completely without the symptoms. This paper emphasizes importance of clinical evaluation of Lyme disease and shows a unique case of seroconversion in patient with symptoms of disseminated Lyme disease. Seroconversion was likely triggered by release of lipoproteins and other immunogenic molecules from Borrelia once the bacterial die-off began due to antibiotic therapy.

Hronična lajm neuroborelioza

Introduction. Lyme neuroborreliosis is an infectious disorder of the central and/or peripheral nervous system caused by the tick stump of the genus Ixodes rici, infected with species Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (in Europe). The disease manifests as meningitis, encephalitis, meningoradiculitis, vasculitis, paresthesia of the facial nerve and painful radiculopathy. Case report. A 44-year-old patient reports fatigue, forgetfulness, headache, confusion, depression, drowsiness, irritability, instability, her undercooks are crushed, sheeps of a bride and does not recall being called an object. Muscular reflexes of the undergrowth are reduced. Plantar response flexion, Lazarevic sign is positive at 45 degrees from the surface. No weakness of the dorsal and plantar flexion of the fingers of the feet. Relieves sensitivity in the region of inertia nerv peroneus and tibialis. Sphincters were fine. The patient had a diagnosed Lyme disease, five months prior to the exacerbation of anxiety. Due to erythema migrans and subfebrility, diagnosis and seropositivity to Borrelia burgdorferi were established in both classes of the enzymelinked immunosorbent assay antibodies and a confirmed Western blot test. She took doxycycline 200 milligrams/day, three weeks. The analysis of cerebrospinal fluid revealed proteinhorn (0.42 g/L), normal glycorrhachia, pleocytosis, and positive intrathecal IgG antibodies. Electromyography pointed to axonal degeneration of the lower extremities. The magnetic resonance is neat. The therapy includes ceftriaxone, 2 grams/day, vitamins and analgesic therapy. Neuroborreliois was maintained by the laboratory during one-year follow-up. Mental disorders, headaches, confusion and irritability, neurological signs have significantly regressed. Conclusion. The gold standard in diagnostics of neuroborelliosis is the determination of intrathecal antibodies. For the definitive diagnosis, clinical signs of disease, pleocytosis and positive antibodies are necessary. Intrathecal antibodies remain long positive and they are not recommended for monitoring for the effects of therapy.

Atypical Presentation of Pancreatic Glucagonoma. New Clinical Presentation before Early Imaging Diagnosis?

Purpose: The aim is to expose the atypical presentation in an early diagnosed glucagonoma case. Method: A 76-year-old man with altered fasting basal glucose levels and a constitutional syndrome of 4 months of evolution, associated with palpitations and pigmented and pruritic skin lesions. Abdominal CT: 14mm hyperdense nodular structure in the pancreatic tail with calcifications. Hormonal study: glucagon> 400 pg / ml. Neuronal specific enolase and CgA positive. Negative tumor markers. Ultrasound-guided FNA: neuroendocrine tumor, glucagonoma. PET-CT: negative for metastasis. Octreoscan: pancreatic injury. Surgical treatment is decided: distal splenopancreatectomy and lymphadenectomy. Results and conclusions: Glucagonoma classically presents with weight loss and the “4 Ds”: diabetes, dermatitis (necrolytic erythema migrans), deep vein thrombosis, and depression. In our case, the presentation is atypical, with little weight loss, skin lesions other than necrolytic migratory erythema and altered fasting blood glucose levels. Are we changing the natural history of these tumors due to their early diagnosis with the increasingly requested imaging? This raises us whether in the future we should suspect them of atypical forms of presentation and whether new therapeutic strategies will be considered as a result of their early diagnosis. Currently, surgical treatment is indicated from the beginning in all sporadic functioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (there are some exceptions in cases of genetic syndromes) and resectable. The surgical indication is for cephalic duodenopancreatectomy or distal splenopancreatectomy depending on the location of the tumor, associated with systematic lymphadenectomy due to its high rates of malignancy and lymph node involvement.

Lyme disease, An Emerging Infection in Nepal: A Case Report

ABSTRACT&#x0D; Lyme disease, an infectious multisystemic disease is caused by "Borrelia burgdorferi". It is a spirochete transmitted by the Ixodes tick. Until today, only one case has been reported from Nepal. Here we report case of a 50-year female from Gulmi, who presented with a history of fever, multiple joint pain, tiredness, tingling sensation, and a painful brownish raised lesion over the neck and anterior chest. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by histological findings typical of erythema chronicum migrans and by serology. The patient was treated successfully with doxycycline. This is the second case report of Lyme disease from Nepal and the first documented case who presented with typical erythema chronicum migrans. We suspect that Lyme disease might not have been considered in the differential diagnosis of fever with rash and joint pain in Nepal and suggest that it is to be kept as a differential in the given scenario.&#x0D;

Systemic immune responses in patients with early localized or early disseminated Borrelia afzelii lyme borreliosis.

IntroductionThe role of host immune responses in the pathogenesis of borrelial dissemination in early Lyme borreliosis (LB) in the form of multiple erythema migrans (MEM) or LB‐associated symptoms is incompletely understood.MethodsIn this study, fifteen cytokine or chemokine levels, representative of innate, Th1, and Th17 immune responses, were assessed using a bead‐based Luminex multiplex assay in acute sera from 76 adult patients with skin culture‐positive Borrelia afzelii solitary erythema migrans (SEM) and 58 patients with MEM at a single‐center university hospital. Differences between the groups were tested by modeling each cytokine or chemokine concentration by means of left‐censored regression using the classic Tobit model.ResultsMean serum cytokine or chemokine levels were low. When taking into account the proportion of patients with cytokine or chemokine concentrations below the lowest detectable limit, only levels of CXCL10 (p = .03) and CCL19 (p = .02), representatives of the Th1 immune response, differed between patients with SEM and those with MEM; however, the differences did not reach statistical significance when adjusted for multiple comparisons. In addition, we did not find differences in systemic inflammatory responses when comparing patients with and those without LB‐associated constitutional symptoms.ConclusionNo significant differences in systemic immune responses represented by selected cytokines or chemokines in serum samples of patients with EM infected with B. afzelii suggest that systemic mediators are not pivotal in the pathogenesis of dissemination of early infection in the form of MEM or LB‐associated symptoms. Localized immune responses in the skin or other pathogenetic mechanisms may be more important in this regard.

736. Babesia microti: A study of 38 cases

Background Babesia microti is an intraerythrocytic infection transmitted by Ixodes scapularis in Eastern United States. The same vector transmits Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, B miyamotoi and Powassan virus resulting in mixed infections. Spleen involvement, blood abnormalities and abnormal liver functions are common in babesiosis. Here we present the clinical findings of 38 B microti (smear or serology positive) patients.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated charts of 38 patients, 20 male and 18 female, smear or serology positive for B. microti in our health network from 9 hospitals in Eastern Pennsylvania and one in adjacent Warren county New Jersey.ResultsEleven had B microti and Lyme co-infections (9 western blot positive, 2 with erythema migrans) and 2 mixed infections with A. phagocytophilum (PCR+). Only 2 gave a history of a tick bite. Fourteen presented with fever. 9 were Babesia smear positive. All 9 smear positive patients had fever, 7 were anemic, 6 leukopenic and 8 had increased liver enzymes. Six out of 14 with fever and 6 out of 9 smear positive patients had low platelet counts. Two with left upper abdominal discomfort likely due to splenic inflammation were initially misdiagnosed as left pyelonephritis. One had splenomegaly. Both had anemia and thrombocytopenia. A patient with a low IGG titer 1:10 for B microti and chronic ITP with a platelet count 102,000 (NL 140-200,000) had a 1 cm splenic artery aneurysm. Four western blot negative patients 2 with joint pain and 2 with radiculopathy were not counted as mixed infections. A Lyme co-infected patient had sinus tachycardia and ST, T changes in the electrocardiogram suggestive of Lyme myocarditis. All mixed infections were treated with a combination of atovaquone, azithromycin and doxycycline, including one patient initially on quinine and clindamycin switched due to side effects.Conclusion I.scapularis transmitted mixed infections are not uncommon. The majority were due to B microti and B burgdorferi. Fever was the most common presentation in symptomatic patients. Anemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and elevated liver enzymes were common in smear positive patents. Babesiosis should be suspected in patients presenting with left upper abdominal pain in tick endemic areas. Most did not give a history of a tick bite.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

LYME BORRELIOSIS: CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND ADVANCES IN DIAGNOSIS AND CONTROL

Lyme disease or borreliosis is presumed one of the most significant vector-borne diseases globally. The disease is re-emerging in numerous parts of world. It has expanded dramatically in newer areas in recent decades. Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi yet additionally by other borrelial species, B. afzelii and B. garini which cause diverse clinical syndromes. Spatial distribution and clinical presentations differ depending on the causative species. Clinical manifestations of Lyme disease can be delineated in three stages. The first stage is presented in the form of erythema migrans at the site of tick bite. Early dispersed stage can lead to multiple lesions of erythema migrans, neuroborreliosis, lymphocytoma, arthritis or carditis. The manifestation at later stage shows acordermatitis chronica atrophicans, arthritis and neurological involvement. Diagnosis is challenging owing the several clinical presentations and could require multiple tests. The antibiotics that are currently under use, help in the clearance of bacteria from the affected host and stop further spread of the disease. Although several antibiotics are being used for Lyme disease, doxycycline is the widely used antimicrobial in early stage of the disease. Several attempts have been made to develop a vaccine against Lyme disease, however, none of them have been successfully marketed. The present review discusses clinical manifestations, and advances in diagnosis and control of Lyme disease.

Facial palsy as a manifestation of early neuroborreliosis (clinical case)

Lyme borreliosis is a tick-borne transmitted infectious disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and spread by the bite of ticks of the genus Ixodes. Lyme neuroborreliosis is a clinical manifestation of Lyme borreliosis, which affects the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system in up to 15% of the affected patients. Nerve structures are affected by spirochetes both in acute and late phase of the disease. The clinical course of neuroborreliosis is highly variable. Although at least 80% of European patients present with facial nerve palsy and radiculitis, symptoms of neuroborreliosis may be quite unspecific or even mimic other neurological diseases. Idiopathic peripheral facial palsy has long been considered as the most common cause of prosopoparesis, but modern diagnosis significantly narrow the range of cases of unknown genesis. Neuroborreliosis is difficult to diagnose, especially when prosopoparesis is the only clinical manifestation, so practitioners should be mindful of possible etiology to avoid misdiagnosis. The article presents a clinical case of early neuroborreliosis in a woman of 57 years who manifested with peripheral facial palsy. The author describes in detail the course of the disease (the appearance of new symptoms on the background of standard medical therapy (poor response), the presence of additional criteria (erythema migrans, lymphocytoma (rarely), arthralgia), diagnosis (specific immunological examination of blood to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato). Antibiotic therapy made it possible to achieve complete recovery of facial nerve function and avoid future complications.

Molecular Microbiological and Immune Characterization of a Cohort of Patients Diagnosed with Early Lyme Disease.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi Current diagnosis of early Lyme disease relies heavily on clinical criteria, including the presence of an erythema migrans rash. The sensitivity of current gold-standard diagnostic tests relies upon antibody formation, which is typically delayed and thus of limited utility in early infection. We conducted a study of blood and skin biopsy specimens from 57 patients with a clinical diagnosis of erythema migrans. Samples collected at the time of diagnosis were analyzed using an ultrasensitive, PCR-based assay employing an isothermal amplification step and multiple primers. In 75.4% of patients, we directly detected one or more B. burgdorferi genotypes in the skin. Two-tier testing showed that 20 (46.5%) of those found to be PCR positive remained serologically negative at both acute and convalescent time points. Multiple genotypes were found in three (8%) of those where a specific genotype could be identified. The 13 participants who lacked PCR and serologic evidence for exposure to B. burgdorferi could be differentiated as a group from PCR-positive participants by their levels of several immune markers as well as by clinical descriptors such as the number of acute symptoms and the pattern of their erythema migrans rash. These results suggest that within a Mid-Atlantic cohort, patient subgroups can be identified using PCR-based direct detection approaches. This may be particularly useful in future research such as vaccine trials and public health surveillance of tick-borne disease patterns.