Lyme borreliosis – natural focal infectious disease from the group of bacterial zoonoses. The etiological cause of tick-borne borreliosis in most cases & nbsp; is Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease can also be caused by other types of bacteria of the genus Borrelia: Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia bavariensis and Borrelia spielmanii.
Mechanism of transmission: transmissible. A key role in the spread of Lyme borreliosis belongs to ticks of the genus Ixodes.
For more information about the spread of the disease, as well as typical clinical manifestations of different stages of the infectious process in Lyme borreliosis, read on estet-portal.com. in this article.
Lyme borreliosis: the relevance of the problem and the prevalence of the disease
Lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne disease in all countries of the Northern Hemisphere. About 100,000 cases of tick-borne borreliosis are registered annually in the United States alone. Experts of the World Health Organization believe that the real figures are at least 5 times higher than official statistics.
Starting from the nineties of the XX century. the incidence of Lyme borreliosis has increased significantly in the CIS countries and, in particular, Ukraine, which is associated with the wide spread of ixodid ticks infected with borrelias.
In different regions of Ukraine, the infection of ticks with Borrelia varies from 5 to 25%. Cases of identification of different types of borrelia in one ixodid tick are described.
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Who belongs to the risk group for infection with tick-borne borreliosis
A person becomes infected with Lyme borreliosis by sucking on an infected ixodid tick and entering the bloodstream with their saliva. Tourists, hunters, mushroom pickers, foresters belong to the risk group for infection with tick-borne borreliosis. Incubation period of the disease: 1-45 days (average: 7-14 days).
The pathognomonic sign of Lyme borreliosis is the appearance of migrating annular erythema. It is present in 70% of cases of tick-borne borreliosis. But in the remaining 30% of cases of Lyme disease, timely diagnosis of the disease can be difficult.
Lyme borreliosis: stages of the disease and typical clinical manifestations
Lyme borreliosis is characterized by the ability of the pathogen to long-term persistence in the human body. Borrelia have the ability to induce the occurrence of autoimmune and immunopathological processes.
Diagnosis of tick-borne borreliosis is often difficult, especially when the absence of a pathognomonic sign of the disease in the early stages.
The infection process in Lyme borreliosis has three stages:
1. The stage of local infection: is characterized by the development of migrating erythema at the site of tick bite in 70% of cases. At first, erythema looks like a bright red spot, later its central part brightens, leaving only a red rim. That is why this morphological element is called "erythema annulus".
Every day, the size of the element increases by 1-2 cm. When the erythema reaches a very large size, its annular configuration is lost. She begins to resemble "whip blows" more; in the form of red stripes on the human body. In 60% of cases, intoxication syndrome of varying severity is also observed during this period.
2. Dissemination stage: characterized by the spread of Borrelia from the site of their initial entry. This occurs 1-3 months after the onset of erythema migrans. Clinically, the stage of dissemination can be manifested by the appearance of foci of secondary erythema, the number of which can be from 2 to 40 or more. The size of these elements is smaller than the primary erythema. Another common manifestation of this stage of the disease is damage to the nervous system in the form of a variety of neurological disorders.
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They can be characterized by both isolated facial neuropathy and Bannwart's syndrome: lymphocytic meningitis, facial neuropathy, spinal polyradiculoneuropathy. Patients during this period often suffer from intense headache, as well as radicular pain in the lower back and neck.
Neurological disorders last from several weeks to months. In the stage of dissemination, heart lesions in the form of transient atrioventricular blockades can also be observed, but this pathology occurs only in 3-5% of cases of Lyme borreliosis.
3. Stage of persistent infection: characterized by the occurrence of multiple organ lesions of autoimmune etiology. Typical manifestations of this period are arthritis with a predominant lesion of large joints: knee, hip. In addition, there is an ever deeper damage to the nervous system up to the development of encephalopathy and chronic encephalomyelitis.
Thus, the only pathognomonic clinical sign of tick-borne borreliosis is erythema annulare. Since it is absent in 30% of cases, the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis is often difficult for clinicians.
Lyme borreliosis can occur under the guise of a variety of rheumatic, neurological and cardiac disorders.
Knowledge of the characteristic symptoms of tick-borne borreliosis is necessary for doctors of all specialties due to the wide spread of this condition, as well as the polysyndromic nature of its clinical manifestations. Timely appointment of etiotropic therapy for tick-borne borreliosis is necessary to prevent the development of the above-mentioned late manifestations of the disease.
Thank you for staying with estet-portal.com. Read other interesting articles in the "Dermatology" section. You might also be interested in Erythema annulare treatment: the most effective methods
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