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Updated: May 18, 2026

Detecting the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia Burgdorferi, in Ticks Using Nested PCR
Published on: February 4, 2018
Lyme endocarditis
N Hidri1, O Barraud, S de Martino
1CHU Limoges, Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène, Limoges, France.
Abstract:
Lyme borreliosis is a common tick-borne disease with a wide variety of clinical manifestations. Cardiac involvement has been reported during both the acute phase (atrioventricular block, pericarditis) and the chronic stage (dilated cardiomyopathy), but is rare (<5%). Here we describe the first case of Borrelia afzelii Lyme endocarditis, in a 61-year-old man living in an endemic area of France. The diagnosis was confirmed by detection of B. afzelii DNA in the mitral valve by specific real-time PCR. He was treated empirically with amoxicillin for 6 weeks and remains well 12 months later.
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