Updates on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex with respect to public health

Abstract

Summary Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex is a diverse group of worldwide distributed bacteria that includes 18 named spirochete species and a still not named group proposed as genomospecies 2 (Postic et al., 2007). Descriptions of new species and variants continue to be recognized, so the current number of described species is probably not final. Most of known spirochete species are considered to have a limited distribution. Eleven species from the B. burgdorferi s.l. complex were identified in and strictly associated with Eurasia (B. afzelii, B. bavariensis, B. garinii, B. japonica, B. lusitaniae, B. sinica, B. spielmanii, B. tanukii, B. turdi, B. valaisiana, and B. yangtze), while another 5 (B. americana, B. andersonii, B. californiensis, B. carolinensis, and B. kurtenbachii) were previously believed to be restricted to the USA only (Rudenko et al., 2009b, 2009c; Margos et al., 2010). B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), B. bissettii, and B. carolinensis share the distinction of being present in both the Old and the New World. Out of the 18 genospecies, 3 commonly and 4 occasionally infect humans, causing Lyme borreliosis (LB) – a multisystem disease that is often referred to as the ‘great imitator’ due to diversity of its clinical manifestations. Among the genospecies that commonly infect people, i.e. B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii, and B. garinii, only B. burgdorferi s.s. causes LB both in the USA and in Europe, with a wide spectrum of clinical conditions ranging from minor cutaneous erythema migrans (EM) to severe arthritis or neurological manifestations. The epidemiological data from many European countries and the USA show a dramatic increase of the diagnosed cases of LB due to the development of new progressive diagnostic methods during the last decades (Hubálek, 2009). Recently, the definition of the disease has also changed. What was not considered Lyme borreliosis before might be now.

Prevalence of <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> in ticks removed from skin of people and circumstances of being bitten – research from the area of Poland, 2012–2014

“…Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are dominant genospecies in ticks in Europe [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. In North America there is one major genospecies -Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto [16].…”

In vitro evaluation of antibacterial activity of phytochemicals and micronutrients against Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia garinii

“…1994; Rudenko et al . 2011). Borrelia are micro‐aerophilic and slow‐growing spirochetal bacteria classified in 36 known species with unknown numbers of genomic strains.…”

Identification of Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies isolated from Ixodes ricinus ticks in the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic

“…The Bbsl complex currently contains at least 18 genospecies associated with particular reservoir hosts, 8 of which are distributed throughout Europe [13]; 5 are considered to be species with pathogenic potential: B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. valaisiana, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. lusitaniae. Analyses of data from 53 records revealed a distinct pattern of Borrelia species distribution in Europe: B. afzelii and B. garinii are the most common species, followed by B. valaisiana and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto [12].…”