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Cultivation Methods of Spirochetes from Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Complex and Relapsing Fever Borrelia
Published on: November 25, 2022
Cutaneous borreliosis in children - a challenging problem
Adriana Diaconeasa1, Cristiana Voicu2, Mihaela Ivaniciuc3
1Dermatology Ambulatory Care Center, "Grigore Alexandrescu" Clinical Emergency Hospital for Children, Bucharest, Romania.
Insights
Lyme disease (borreliosis) is a tick-borne illness common in children in Europe. This review focuses on European cutaneous borreliosis, its symptoms like erythema migrans, and diagnosis challenges.
Area of Science:
- Medical Entomology
- Infectious Diseases
- Dermatology
Background:
- Borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is a significant vector-borne illness caused by Borrelia burgdorferi complex species, prevalent in Europe and North America.
- Ixodoid ticks are the primary vectors, with paediatric cases frequently observed in children aged five to nine.
- European Lyme disease presentation differs from North America, with erythema migrans being the primary early symptom.
Approach:
- This review concentrates on European borreliosis, particularly cutaneous manifestations.
- It examines B. afzelii as a key causative agent in European cutaneous Lyme disease.
- The review synthesizes information on clinical symptoms, diagnostic challenges, and treatment.
Key Points:
- Common European cutaneous symptoms include erythema migrans, lymphocytoma, chronic atrophic dermatitis, and juxta-articular nodules.
- In children, lymphocytoma is a frequent finding, while chronic atrophic dermatitis is rare.
- Non-specific signs post-haematogenic spread pose diagnostic difficulties.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the specific clinical presentations of borreliosis in European children is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.
- Early recognition of erythema migrans and awareness of lymphocytoma prevalence in children are important.
- Addressing diagnostic challenges, especially with non-specific symptoms, is vital for effective treatment of Lyme disease.
Abstract:
Borreliosis, also known as Lyme disease, is a vector-borne disease caused by different species of the Borrelia burgdorferi complex. It is frequent in Europe and Northern America. The major vectors are ixodoid ticks. Paediatric borreliosis is common and peaks in children between five to nine years. In Europe, the leading symptom of early infection is erythema migrans, in contrast to Northern America where arthritis is the dominating clinical finding. In this review, we focus on Europe, where cutaneous borreliosis is mainly caused by infection with B. afzelii. The cutaneous symptoms include erythema migrans, lymphocytoma, chronic atrophic dermatitis and juxta-articular nodules. In children, lymphocytoma is very common but chronic atrophic dermatitis is rare. Clinical symptoms, diagnosis, peculiarities of childhood disease and treatment are also reviewed. It is important to note that after haematogeneic spread, signs of infection may be non-specific, and this is a challenge for diagnosis.
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