Protective immunity in lyme borreliosis

Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne illness in the USA. Although early infection can be treated with antibiotics, the initial diagnosis is difficult and late disease may be recalcitrant to therapy. A vaccine against Lyme disease is therefore needed, and murine models of Lyme borreliosis have facilitated its development. In this review, Erol Fikrig, Fred Kantor, Stephen Barthold and Richard Flavell focus on the use of Borrelia surface antigens as vaccine candidates for Lyme disease.