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Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterial species of the spirochete class in the genus Borrelia, and is one of the causative agents of Lyme disease in humans. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Along with a few similar genospecies, some of which also cause Lyme disease, it makes up the species complex of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato .
The genomic variations have direct implications on the clinical symptoms of tick-borne Lyme disease. For example, B. burgdorferi s.s.’s tick-borne Lyme disease may manifest with arthritis-like symptoms. [9] In contrast, B. garinii’s tick-borne Lyme disease may cause an infection of the central nervous system. [9]
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of Borrelia bacteria, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus Ixodes. [4] [9] [10] The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migrans (EM), which appears at the site of the tick bite about a week afterwards. [1]
The Borrelia bacteria are transmitted within the saliva of the tick as its feeding., and it typically takes about 36-48 hours of attachment time for the bacterium to move from the tick’s gut into the saliva and into the human. If Borrelia infects a human it causes disease in three stages.
The major Borrelia species causing Lyme disease are Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii. [23] All species that cause Lyme disease are referred to collectively as B. burgdorferi sensu lato, [10] while B. burgdorferi itself is specified as B. burgdorferi sensu stricto.
For example, the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent for Lyme disease, infects the tick vector as a larva, with the infection maintained as the tick molts to a nymph and later develops as an adult. [1] [2] Transstadial transmission is also seen with other microbes such as other bacteria, fungi, and viruses in numerous insects. [3]
The initial sign of about 80% of Lyme infections is an erythema migrans (EM) rash at the site of a tick bite, often near skin folds, such as the armpit, groin, or back of knee, on the trunk, under clothing straps, or in children's hair, ear, or neck. [3] [10] Most people who get infected do not remember seeing a tick or the bite. The EM rash ...
For an individual to acquire infection, the feeding tick must also be infected. Not all ticks are infected. In most places in the US, 30-50% of deer ticks will be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (the agent of Lyme disease). Other pathogens are much more rare. Ticks can be tested for infection using a highly specific and sensitive qPCR procedure.