simultaneous occurrences of Lyme disease and babesiosis

georgia · medicine forum Guru Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 505

J Infect Dis. 1985 Sep;152(3):473-7. Related Articles, Links

Serological evidence for simultaneous occurrences of Lyme disease and
babesiosis.

Benach JL, Coleman JL, Habicht GS, MacDonald A, Grunwaldt E, Giron JA.

Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochetal agent of Lyme
disease, are both transmitted by the tick Ixodes dammini. Serological
evidence has shown that 54% of the patients with babesiosis tested have
IgG and IgM antibodies to the spirochete causing Lyme disease.
Likewise, 66% of randomly selected patients with Lyme disease from
geographic areas endemic for both diseases, but not from areas where
babesiosis does not occur, also have IgM and IgG antibodies to B.
microti. Antigenic cross-reactivity is not the reason for these
findings, as laboratory animals experimentally infected with B. microti
do not develop antibodies to B. burgdorferi, and laboratory animals
immunized with organisms derived from pure cultures of spirochetes do
not develop antibodies to B. microti. We suggest that these patients
are concurrently exposed to both organisms by doubly infected tick
vectors.

PMID: 4031555 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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