Borrelia lonestari Infection after a Bite by an Amblyomma americanum Tick

Authors

Angela M. James, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado
Dionysios Liveris, New York Medical College, Valhalla
Gary P. Wormser, New York Medical College, Valhalla
Ira Schwartz, New York Medical College, Valhalla
Marisa A. Montecalvo, New York Medical College, Valhalla
Barbara J. B. Johnson, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado

Date of this Version

2001

Comments

Published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases 2001; 183:1810-4.

Abstract

Erythematous rashes that are suggestive of early Lyme disease have been associated with the bite of Amblyomma americanum ticks, particularly in the southern United States. However, Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has not been cultured from skin biopsy specimens from these patients, and diagnostic serum antibodies usually have not been found. Borrelia lonestari sp nov, an uncultured spirochete, has been detected in A. americanum ticks by DNA amplification techniques, but its role in human illness is unknown. We observed erythema migrans in a patient with an attached A. americanum tick. DNA amplification of the flagellin gene flaB produced B. lonestari sequences from the skin of the patient that were identical to those found in the attached tick. B. lonestari is a probable cause of erythema migrans in humans.