Borrelia are spirochete bacteria that can cause diseases like relapsing fever and Lyme disease. There are several medically important Borrelia species, including B. recurrentis which causes relapsing fever, B. burgdorferi which causes Lyme disease, and B. vincenti which causes Vincent's angina. Borrelia are transmitted via arthropod vectors like ticks and body lice. Relapsing fever is characterized by recurrent fevers caused by antigenic variation of B. recurrentis, while Lyme disease presents in stages and can affect the heart, nervous system and joints if left untreated. Laboratory diagnosis involves microscopy, culture and serology. Doxycycline and ceftriax

1. BORRELIA

2. TAXONOMY
DOMAIN: BACTERIA
PHYLUM: SPIROCHAETES
ORDER: SPIROCHAETALES
FAMILY: SPIROCHAETACEAE
GENUS: BORRELIA
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3. HISTORY
▪ In the early 1900’s manifestation first reported in Europe,
associated it with tick bites
▪ In 1975, outbreak in Lyme, Connecticut. Believed to be
juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
▪ In 1982, spirochetes were identified in the midgut of the
black legged tick and named Borrelia burgdorferi
▪ In 1984, Borrelia burgdorferi was isolated from the blood of
patients with EM and from the rash lesion itself.
▪ Today, it is the most common tick borne infection in the U.S.
more than 16,000 infections each year.
▪ There are 36 known species of Borrrelia.The genus was
named after the French biologistAmedee Borrel.
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4. INTRODUCTION
▪ Borrelia spp are large, motile, refractile, spirochetes,
with irregular wide open coils.
▪ Measuring about 0.2-0.3um in diam, and 3-20um in
length.
▪ 3-10 loose coils with 15-29 periplasmic flagella
▪ Gram negative and stained well with Giemsa stain.
▪ Some medically important Borrelia :
▪ B. recurrentis- Relapsing fever
▪ B. burgdorferi- Lyme disease
▪ B. vincenti-Vincent Angina
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5. RELAPSING FEVER
▪ Caused by B. recurrentis
▪ MORPHOLOGY
▪ Irregular spiral with one or both ends pointed
▪ Possesses 5-10 loose spiral coils at interval of about
2mm
▪ CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
▪ Microaerophilic, temp 28-30C
▪ Cultivation is difficult but can be cultivated on
modified Kelly's medium.
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6. RELAPSING FEVER:
▪ Arthropod-borne infection
▪ Implicated arthropod
▪ Body louse
▪ Ticks
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7. PATHOGENISIS
▪ Infection occur when infected arthropod bites
▪ Incubation period: 2-10 days
▪ Recurrent fever(relapses) – due to antigenic variation
▪ 3-10 relapses can occur
LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
Blood can be examined for borrelia by the following methods
 Dark ground microscopy
 Giesma or Leishman stain
 Culture and serology
 Animal inoculation
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8. TREATMENT
▪ Tetracycline
▪ Chloramphenicol
▪ Penicillin
▪ Erythromycin
▪ Prophylaxis:
▪ Control of vectors(louse and tick)
▪ Maintenance of good personal hygiene
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9. LYME DISEASE
▪ Caused by Borrrelia burgdorferi
▪ Identified in 1975 in Lyme ,Connecticut, USA
▪ Most common vector born disease in USA
▪ MODE OFTRANSMISSION
▪ Transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks
▪ Normally lives in mice ,squirrels and other small animals
▪ Black legged ticks
▪ Lone star ticks
▪ American dog ticks
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10. PATHOGENICITY
▪ ATick must be attached to your body for 24-36
hours in order to spread the bacteria to your blood.
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11. SYMPTOMS
▪ There are 3 stages
▪ (STAGE 1) Fever and chills, general ill feeling,
headache, joint pain and muscle pain
▪ Mainly the expanding rash called erythema
migrans.
▪ It appears as a solid red expanding rash or central
spot surrounded by clear skin that is ringed by an
expanding red rash look’s like bull’s eye.
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12. SYMPTOMS
▪ (STAGE 2) May occur weeks to months
▪ Numbness or pain in the nerve area
▪ Paralysis or weakness in the muscles of the face
▪ Heart problems such as skipped heart beats , chest pain or shortness of
breath
▪ (STAGE 3) May occur months to years
▪ Abnormal muscle movement
▪ Joint swelling
▪ Muscle weakness
▪ Thinking problems
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13. BULL’S EYE
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14. LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
▪ The most commonly used is the ELISA for Lyme disease
▪ An immunoblot test is done to confirm ELISA results
▪ Other tests that may be done when the infection has
spread include:
▪ Electrocardiogram
▪ Echocardiogram to look at the heart
▪ MRI of the brain
▪ Spinal tap (to examine spinal fluid)
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15. TREATMENT
▪ Doxycycline
▪ Amoxicillin
▪ Azithromycin
▪ Cefuroxine
▪ Ceftriaxone
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16. PREVENTION
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17. VINCENT’S ANGINA
▪ Borrelia vincentii causeVincent’s angina in
association with fusiform bacilli (fusobacteria)
▪ This symbiotic infection called fusospirochaetosis
▪ This symbiotic infection can be demonstrated in
some of the lung abscess, skin ulcers and
gangrenous balanitis
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18. MORPHOLOGY
▪ Motile spirochetes, 5-20um in length, 0.2-0.6um wide with 3-8 coils
▪ Easily stained with dilute carbol fuchsin and is gram negative
▪ CULTURALCHARACTERS
▪ Difficult to grow in pure culture
▪ Better growth is obtained in mixed cultures with fusobacteria.
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19. LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
▪ Smears are prepared from the ulcerative lesions in
the mouth or any other site and are stained with
carbol fuschin or gram’s stain.
▪ When the large number of Borrelia vincenti along
with fusiform bacilli are present , a clinical
diagnosis ofVincent's angina is confirmed.
▪ TREATMENT
▪ Penicillin
▪ Metronidazole
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20. REFERENCES:
▪ Medical Microbiology by C.G.A.Thomas
▪ Text Book of Medical Microbiology by H.L.Chopra
▪ Text Book of Medical Microbiology,3rd Edition by
Satish Gupte
WWW.Sciencedirect.com
WWW.Researchgate.com
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21. THANKYOU
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