Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2025
Author Spotlight: Expanding the Scope of Multiplex Immunoassays for Lyme Borreliosis Diagnostics and Pathogen Research
Published on: July 14, 2023
Human Borrelia miyamotoi Infection in North America
Jed Burde1, Evan M Bloch2, Jill R Kelly3
1Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Abstract:
Borrelia miyamotoi is an emerging pathogen that causes a febrile illness and is transmitted by the same hard-bodied (ixodid) ticks that transmit several other pathogens, including Borrelia species that cause Lyme disease. B. miyamotoi was discovered in 1994 in Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Japan. It was first reported in humans in 2011 in Russia. It has subsequently been reported in North America, Europe, and Asia. B. miyamotoi infection is widespread in Ixodes ticks in the northeastern, northern Midwestern, and far western United States and in Canada. In endemic areas, human B. miyamotoi seroprevalence averages from 1 to 3% of the population, compared with 15 to 20% for B. burgdorferi. The most common clinical manifestations of B. miyamotoi infection are fever, fatigue, headache, chills, myalgia, arthralgia, and nausea. Complications include relapsing fever and rarely, meningoencephalitis. Because clinical manifestations are nonspecific, diagnosis requires laboratory confirmation by PCR or blood smear examination. Antibiotics are effective in clearing infection and are the same as those used for Lyme disease, including doxycycline, tetracycline, erythromycin, penicillin, and ceftriaxone. Preventive measures include avoiding areas where B. miyamotoi-infected ticks are found, landscape management, and personal protective strategies such as protective clothing, use of acaricides, and tick checks with rapid removal of embedded ticks.
Insights
Borrelia miyamotoi is an emerging tick-borne illness causing fever and fatigue. Diagnosis requires lab tests, but antibiotics used for Lyme disease are effective for treatment.
Area of Science:
- * Emerging infectious diseases
- * Medical entomology
- * Microbiology
Background:
- * Borrelia miyamotoi is an emerging tick-borne pathogen transmitted by ixodid ticks.
- * First discovered in Japan in 1994, it has since been reported globally, including North America, Europe, and Asia.
- * Infection is prevalent in Ixodes ticks across the United States and Canada, with human seroprevalence ranging from 1-3% in endemic areas.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To review the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of Borrelia miyamotoi infection.
- * To highlight the significance of this emerging pathogen in public health.
Main Methods:
- * Literature review of Borrelia miyamotoi epidemiology, clinical features, and treatment.
- * Analysis of diagnostic methods including PCR and blood smear examination.
- * Summary of recommended preventive strategies.
Main Results:
- * Common symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, chills, myalgia, arthralgia, and nausea.
- * Potential complications include relapsing fever and meningoencephalitis.
- * Diagnosis requires laboratory confirmation due to nonspecific clinical signs.
Conclusions:
- * Borrelia miyamotoi infection is a growing public health concern requiring accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment.
- * Antibiotics such as doxycycline, tetracycline, erythromycin, penicillin, and ceftriaxone are effective.
- * Prevention involves avoiding tick habitats, landscape management, and personal protective measures.
