Childhood neurologic disorders and Lyme disease during pregnancy

To determine the prevalence of clinically significant nervous system disease attributable to transplacental transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi, we surveyed neurologists in areas of the United States in which Lyme disease is endemic (i.e., Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Minnesota). Overall, 162 of the 176 (92%) pediatric neurologists contacted responded to the survey with a range of 90-100% in the different geographic areas. One pediatric neurologist was following 3 children who were labeled as having "congenital Lyme disease," but none of the 3 met our case definition. None of the other pediatric neurologists surveyed had ever seen a child whose mother had been diagnosed as having Lyme disease during pregnancy. Similarly, none of the 37 adult neurologists in Connecticut surveyed had ever seen a child whose mother had been diagnosed as having had Lyme disease during pregnancy. We conclude that congenital neuroborreliosis is either not occurring or is occurring at an extremely low rate in areas endemic for Lyme disease.