Survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in antibiotically treated patients with Lyme borreliosis
Abstract
The persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi in patients treated with antibiotics is described. The diagnosis of Lyme disease is based on clinical symptoms, epidemiology and specific IgG and IgM antibody titers to B. burgdorferi in serum. Antibiotic therapy may abrogate the antibody response to the infection as shown in our patients. B. burgdorferi may persist as shown by positive culture in MKP-medium; patients may have subclinical or clinical disease without diagnostic antibody titers to B. burgdorferi. We conclude that early stage of the disease as well as chronic Lyme disease with persistence of B. burgdorferi after antibiotic therapy cannot be excluded when the serum is negative for antibodies against B. burgdorferi.
Cited By (13)
- Lyme disease: A neuropsychiatric illnessAmerican Journal of Psychiatry · 1994
- Persistence of borrelia burgdorferi in ligamentous tissue from a patient with chronic lyme borreliosisArthritis & Rheumatism · 1993
- Recurrent erythema migrans despite extended antibiotic treatment with minocycline in a patient with persisting Borrelia burgdorferi infectionJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 1993
- Invasion of Human Skin Fibroblasts by the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferiThe Journal of Infectious Diseases · 1993
- Ineffectiveness of Tigecycline against Persistent Borrelia burgdorferiAntimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy · 2010
- Counterpoint: long-term antibiotic therapy improves persistent symptoms associated with Lyme diseaseClinical Infectious Diseases · 2007
- Antibodies against whole sonicated Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, 41-kilodalton flagellin, and P39 protein in patients with PCR- or culture-proven late Lyme borreliosis
Related Papers
- Do babesiosis and malaria share a common disease processAnnals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology · 1998 · 5 shared tags
- Lyme disease and babesiosis: acaricide focused on potentially infected ticksAmerican Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 1987 · 5 shared tags
- The Emergence of Lyme Disease and Human Babesiosis in a Changing EnvironmentaAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 1994 · 5 shared tags
- Lyme Disease. NEJM 321 (9) : 586-96 19891989 · 5 shared tags
- Lyme Disease and related tick borne illnesses. Annals of Emergency Medicine 33 (6) : 682-93 19991999 · 5 shared tags
- Successful Parenteral Penicillin Therapy of Established Lyme ArthritisNew England Journal of Medicine · 1985 · 5 shared tags