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Detecting the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia Burgdorferi, in Ticks Using Nested PCR
Published on: February 4, 2018
ELISA screening for Lyme disease in children with chronic arthritis
N A Hammouda1, I H Hegazy, E H el-Sawy
1Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria Unviersity, Egypt.
Insights
This study found evidence of Lyme disease in Egyptian children using serological tests. Researchers identified Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies and the Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick, suggesting a potential presence of Lyme disease in Egypt.
Area of Science:
- Medical Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is a tick-borne illness with diverse clinical manifestations.
- Erythema chronicum migrans (ECM) is a characteristic skin lesion associated with early Lyme disease.
- The presence and prevalence of Lyme disease in Egypt have not been well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the serological evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in children presenting with chronic arthritis and skin lesions suggestive of ECM in Egypt.
- To identify potential tick vectors associated with suspected Lyme disease cases.
Main Methods:
- Serum samples from 100 pediatric patients (aged 6-15) with chronic/recurrent arthritis and suspected ECM lesions were tested for IgG antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi using ELISA.
- VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) tests were performed to confirm true positive results.
- Ticks collected from domestic animals in the vicinity of seropositive patients were identified.
Main Results:
- Four out of 100 patients (4%) showed positive serum samples for Borrelia burgdorferi IgG antibodies.
- These four cases had negative VDRL tests, indicating true positives.
- Rhipicephalus sanguineus, a hard tick species, was identified in the environment of seropositive patients.
- Clinically, only one patient presented with the characteristic ECM lesion, while others were diagnosed serologically.
Conclusions:
- This study provides serological evidence for the presence of Lyme disease in Egypt.
- The findings suggest that Borrelia burgdorferi may be circulating in the Egyptian pediatric population.
- Further research is warranted to determine the prevalence, clinical spectrum, vectors, and animal hosts of Lyme disease in Egypt.
Abstract:
One hundred patients, aged 6-15 years and presented to El-Shatby University Children's Hospital with chronic/recurrent arthritis and skin lesions suggestive of erythema chronicum migrans (ECM), were investigated for presence of IgG antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi flagellum antigen ELISA test. Four cases yielded positive serum samples which were true positive cases as they showed negative Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test. Ticks collected from domestic animals from the houses of serologically positive patients were found belonging to hard tick: Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Based on clinical ground, only one case was strongly suspected to have Lyme disease due to the presence of the distinctive skin lesion (ECM) while the other three cases were not diagnosed till the results of serological test. This study provides serological evidence concerning the presence of Lyme disease in Egypt. Further efforts of identify its prevalence, various clinical presentations, vectors and animal hosts are warranted.
