Sexual transmission of Lyme disease: challenging the tickborne disease paradigm

Stricker, Raphael B.; Middelveen, Marianne J

doi:10.1586/14787210.2015.1081056

Cited by 19 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Bbsl has persister cells and sleeper cells, which are known to survive antimicrobials, and subsequently, recrudescence of infection may occur [ 68 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Since Lyme disease spirochetes are in human testicles, seminal and vaginal secretions, this spirochetosis has the potential to be sexually transmitted [ 87 , 88 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada

et al. 2018

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Lyme disease has been documented in northern areas of Canada, but the source of the etiological bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) has been in doubt. We collected 87 ticks from 44 songbirds during 2017, and 24 (39%) of 62 nymphs of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, were positive for Bbsl. We provide the first report of Bbsl-infected, songbird-transported I. scapularis in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Newfoundland and Labrador; north-central Manitoba, and Alberta. Notably, we report the northernmost account of Bbsl-infected ticks parasitizing a bird in Canada. DNA extraction, PCR amplification, and DNA sequencing reveal that these Bbsl amplicons belong to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss), which is pathogenic to humans. Based on our findings, health-care providers should be aware that migratory songbirds widely disperse B. burgdorferi-infected I. scapularis in Canada’s North, and local residents do not have to visit an endemic area to contract Lyme disease.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada

et al. 2018

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“…If Lyme disease goes untreated, emerging evidence has found an association between women with Lyme disease and higher rates of bacterial vaginal infections. 34,35 Overall, we found that under 40% of Lymelight-positive cases searched for standard treatments recommended for Lyme disease, meaning that over 60% of these searches were outside the guidelines for the treatment of Lyme disease. Out of these 60% of drug searches, around 13% were for drugs not normally used for the treatment of Lyme disease, or drugs used to treat other conditions, suggesting a possible misdiagnosis because the underlying condition of Lyme disease may not have been correctly treated.…”

Section: Using Lymelight To Understand Drug Searches Related To Lyme mentioning

confidence: 91%

Lymelight: forecasting Lyme disease risk using web search data

et al. 2020

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Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. Existing estimates of Lyme disease spread are delayed a year or more. We introduce Lymelight-a new method for monitoring the incidence of Lyme disease in real-time. We use a machine-learned classifier of web search sessions to estimate the number of individuals who search for possible Lyme disease symptoms in a given geographical area for two years, 2014 and 2015. We evaluate Lymelight using the official case count data from CDC and find a 92% correlation (p < 0.001) at county level. Importantly, using web search data allows us not only to assess the incidence of the disease, but also to examine the appropriateness of treatments subsequently searched for by the users. Public health implications of our work include monitoring the spread of vector-borne diseases in a timely and scalable manner, complementing existing approaches through real-time detection, which can enable more timely interventions. Our analysis of treatment searches may also help reduce misdiagnosis of the disease.

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“… 20 Animal models of B. burgdorferi sexual transmission in mice, dogs, and ticks have been described in the past, 21 – 23 and further animal and human studies using sophisticated detection methods are now in progress. 24 Whether this form of spirochete transmission is significant in Lyme disease remains to be determined, but the possibility of sexual transmission raises the question of how to treat a disease that may resemble HIV/AIDS in terms of infection risk and need for prolonged treatment.…”

Section: Big Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Lyme disease: the promise of Big Data, companion diagnostics and precision medicine

Stricker

Johnson²

2016

IDR

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Lyme disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi has become a major worldwide epidemic. Recent studies based on Big Data registries show that >300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year in the USA, and up to two-thirds of individuals infected with B. burgdorferi will fail conventional 30-year-old antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease. In addition, animal and human evidence suggests that sexual transmission of the Lyme spirochete may occur. Improved companion diagnostic tests for Lyme disease need to be implemented, and novel treatment approaches are urgently needed to combat the epidemic. In particular, therapies based on the principles of precision medicine could be modeled on successful “designer drug” treatment for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C virus infection featuring targeted protease inhibitors. The use of Big Data registries, companion diagnostics and precision medicine will revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.

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Sexual transmission of Lyme disease: challenging the tickborne disease paradigm

Cited by 19 publications

References 27 publications

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada

Lymelight: forecasting Lyme disease risk using web search data

Lyme disease: the promise of Big Data, companion diagnostics and precision medicine

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