Tick-borne borreliosis in West Africa

Delayed Invasion of the Kidney and Brain byBorrelia crociduraein Plasminogen-Deficient Mice

“…crocidurae was first isolated from the blood of a musk shrew in Senegal and was identified as the cause of endemic RF in western Africa (2,11,19,28,44), where it is considered a major cause of morbidity and neurologic disease (43). B. crocidurae organisms have the uncommon (among Borrelia species) ability to bind and cover themselves with erythrocytes, a phenomenon called erythrocyte rosetting, which is thought to result in a delayed immune response in the host (8).…”

Relapsing Fever in Saudi Arabia: Report of Two Cases

“…For example, borreliosis was considered rare in West Africa until a prospective survey indicated a common occurrence in Senegal. 21 …”

Relapsing Fever Borreliae in Africa

“…Borrelia crocidurae flagellin sequences have been detected in patients in Senegal and Mauritania. 21 Accordingly, B. crocidurae has in turn been detected in travelers returning from Senegal in both France 47,48 and Italy. 49 In Tunisia, B. crocidurae was documented by 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequencing in 15% of Ornithodoros erraticus ticks but not in human patients.…”

“…However, no deaths from borreliae were recorded in Senegal over a period of 14 years. 20 In this country, 0.9% of 1,340 children were smear positive, 21 and real-time PCR for the 16S rRNA Borrelia gene detected borreliae in 27 (13%) of 206 samples from febrile patients in rural Senegal. 22 The clinical features of B. duttonii infection have been well studied in Tanzania, in which the total mortality rate of the disease is~2.3%.…”