Borrelia

burgdorferi

Borrelia

Borrelia

Borrelia

Borrelia

burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia

Borrelia

Introduction: Lyme disease is a tickborne illness that generates controversy among medical providers and researchers. One of the key topics of debate is the existence of persistent infection with the Lyme spirochete,, in patients who have been treated with recommended doses of antibiotics yet remain symptomatic. Persistent spirochetal infection despite antibiotic therapy has recently been demonstrated in non-human primates. We present evidence of persistentinfection despite antibiotic therapy in patients with ongoing Lyme disease symptoms. Methods: In this pilot study, culture of body fluids and tissues was performed in a randomly selected group of 12 patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms who had been treated or who were being treated with antibiotics. Cultures were also performed on a group of ten control subjects without Lyme disease. The cultures were subjected to corroborative microscopic, histopathological and molecular testing fororganisms in four independent laboratories in a blinded manner. Results: Motile spirochetes identified histopathologically aswere detected in culture specimens, and these spirochetes were genetically identified asby three distinct polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approaches. Spirochetes identified aswere cultured from the blood of seven subjects, from the genital secretions of ten subjects, and from a skin lesion of one subject. Cultures from control subjects without Lyme disease were negative forusing these methods. Conclusions: Using multiple corroborative detection methods, we showed that patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms may have ongoing spirochetal infection despite antibiotic treatment, similar to findings in non-human primates. The optimal treatment for persistentinfection remains to be determined. View Full-Text