Research Paper/Possible Repeat

[Guest guest]

Infection 1998 Nov-Dec;26(6):364-7

A proposal for the reliable culture of Borrelia burgdorferi from

patients with chronic Lyme disease, even from those previously

aggressively treated.

SE, Mattman LH, Hulinska D, Moayad H

Greenwich Hospital, CT 06830, USA.

Since culture of Borrelia burgdorferi from patients with chronic

Lyme disease has been an extraordinarily rare event, clarification

of the nature of the illness and proving its etiology as infectious

have been difficult. A method for reliably and reproducibly culturing

B. burgdorferi from the blood of patients with chronic Lyme disease

was therefore sought by making a controlled blood culture trial

studying 47 patients with chronic Lyme disease. All had

relapsed after long-term oral and intravenous antibiotics.

23 patients with other chronic illness formed the control group.

Positive cultures were confirmed by fluorescent antibody immuno-

electron microscopy using monoclonal antibody directed against

Osp A, and Osp A PCR. 43/47 patients (91%)cultured

positive. 23/23 controls (100%) cultured negative. Although

persistent infection has been, to date, strongly suggested in

chronic Lyme disease by positive PCR and antigen capture, there

are major problems with these tests. This new method for culturing

B. burgdorferi from patients with chronic Lyme disease certainly

defines the nature of the illness and establishes that it is

of chronic infectious etiology. This discovery should help to

reestablish the gold standard in laboratory diagnosis of Lyme disease.