College of science

MLS department

Fourth stage

Borrelia

Prepared by : Sara Hassan

Rezhna Sabah
Nozhin Ahmed
Nian Taha
Supervised by : Dr. Rzgar Qadir
Table of Contents
What is borrelia .................................................................................................................................... 3
Characteristic ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Species .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Pathogenesis ............................................................................................................................................ 4
infections .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Epidemiology ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Diagnosis ............................................................................................................................................... 5
prevention ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Treatment ............................................................................................................................................. 5
References ............................................................................................................................................ 6
What is borrelia
Borrelia is a genus of bacteria of the spirochete phylum. It causes Lyme disease, also called
Lyme borreliosis, a zoonotic, vector-borne disease transmitted primarily by ticks and by lice,
depending on the species of bacteria.

Characteristic
• Borrelia is a genus of bacteria of the spirochete phylum.

• It causes Lyme disease, also called Lyme borreliosis,

• a zoonotic,

• Gram negative stained by giemsa stain

• Fastidious bacteria

• vector-borne disease transmitted primarily by ticks and by lice, depending on the species of
bacteria

• They are helical organisms

• 8 and 30 μm long and 0.2–0.5 μm wide

• They have up to 10 loose spirals

• motile via flagella that wind around the cells.

• killed by ultraviolet light and desiccation.

• Cause lyme disease and relapsing fever

Species
Of the 52 known species of Borrelia, 20 belong to the Lyme disease group and are transmitted
by ticks. Eight are known to cause Lyme disease or Borreliosis. The major Borrelia species
causing Lyme disease are Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii

Pathogenesis
Borrelia enters the skin at the site of the tick bite. After 3 to 32 days, the organisms migrate
locally in the skin around the bite, spread via the lymphatics to cause regional adenopathy or
disseminate in blood to organs or other skin sites. Initially, an

inflammatory reaction (erythema migrans) occurs before significant antibody response to

infection (serologic conversion).

infections
• erythema
• lymphocytoma
• acrotermatitis chronicum atrophicans
• joint involvement
• carditis
• lyme disease
•

lyme disease
Lyme disease is a progressive infectious disease with a wide array of clinical manifestations. Infection
begins locally in the skin after B. burgdorferi is inoculated by a feeding tick. In the majority of individuals,
the initial sign of infection is the development of EM . Even at this early phase of infection the clinical
expression of the disease is highly variable. Some individuals are relatively asymptomatic, while others
develop fever, arthralgias, myalgias, conjunctivitis, meningismus, or multifocal EM lesions, and still others
develop more dramatic signs of infection, including acute meningitis, myocarditis with or without
conduction block abnor- malities, hepatitis, myositis, or frank arthritis. Up to 50% of infected individuals
will go on to develop manifestations of late disease if not treated in the acute phase of the infection.
Epidemiology
In the United States, surveillance for Lyme disease was begun by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
in 1982. Since that time the number of reported cases has increased dramatically. The Council of State
and Territorial Epidemiologists designated Lyme disease as a nationally notifiable disease in January
1991. In 2002, 23 763 cases were reported to the CDC, making Lyme disease the most common vector-
borne disease in the United States . Each year, approximately 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are
reported to CDC by state health departments and the District of Columbia.

Diagnosis
Until the discovery of the causative agent in 1982, the clinical diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis was based
solely on the recognition of EM, either historically or by direct observation. In the absence of EM, the
demonstration of an immune response to B. burgdorferi in an appropriate clinical setting forms the basis
on which most diagnoses are made. In patients in the United States, the diagnosis is usually based on the
recognition of the characteristic clinical findings, a history of exposure in an area where the disease is
endemic, and except in patients with EM, an antibody response to B. burgdorferi by ELISA and Western
blotting.

prevention

Primary prevention strategies will help reduce Lyme disease cases, and some strategies may also
prevent other tick-borne illnesses, including babesiosis and granulocytic ehrlichiosis in the United States
and tick-borne encephalitis in Europe. The first line of defense is avoidance of tick-infested habitats, use
of personal protective measures (e.g. repellents and protective clothing), and checking for and removing
attached ticks, and modifications of landscapes in or near residential areas .

Treatment
The primary goals of therapy for Lyme disease are the control of inflammation and the eradication of
the infection. Lyme disease is most responsive to antibiotics early in the course of the disease. In one
report, the leading reason for failure to respond to antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease was incorrect
diagnosis .About 10% of patients with early Lyme disease experience a Jarisch–Herxheimer- like reaction
(higher fever, redder rash, or greater pain) during the first 24 h of antibiotic therapy (Steere, 1989). If
antibiotic therapy is initiated early in the course of Lyme disease, EM typically resolves promptly and
later stage disease is prevented .Early localized infection, limited to a single skin lesion, with mild or no
systemic symptoms, is uniformly responsive to short-course oral antibiotic therapy with a number of
agents. Of the antibiotics studied to date, amoxicillin 500 mg daily for 8 h, doxycycline 100 mg daily for
12 h, or cefuroxsime axetil 500 mg daily for 12 h have been the most effective for this stage of disease .
References

Gillespie, S. and Hawkey, P.M. eds., 2006. Principles and practice of clinical bacteriology. John Wiley &
Sons.