NAME: Borrelia burgdorferi
SYNONYM OR CROSS REFERENCE: Lyme disease, Lyme borreliosis, relapsing fever, Erythema migrans (EM) with polyarthritis, Lyme arthritis, Tickborne meningopolyneuritis
CHARACTERISTICS: Spirochete, first identified in 1982
PATHOGENICITY: Tickborne zoonotic disease characterized by distinctive skin lesion (EM, a red macule or papule that expands in an annular manner), systemic symptoms, polyarthritis, and neurologic and cardiac involvement; malaise, fatigue, fever, headache, stiff neck, mylagia, migratory arthralgias or lympadenopathy lasting several weeks and may precede lesions; neurological and cardiac abnormalities weeks to months after onset of EM; chronic arthritis may develop
EPIDEMIOLOGY: In USA, endemic foci along east coast, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California and Oregon; One endemic area in Southern Ontario; Europe, Soviet Union and independant states, Australia, China and Japan; cases occur primarily during summer; distribution coincides with abundance of relevant ticks
HOST RANGE: Humans, deer, wild rodents
INFECTIOUS DOSE: Unknown
MODE OF TRANSMISSION: By exposure to an infected tick
INCUBATION PERIOD: From 3-32 days after tick exposure
COMMUNICABILITY: No evidence of natural transmission from person to person
RESERVOIR: Deer, wild rodents (mice), ticks through transstadial transmission
ZOONOSIS: Yes - bite of tick from an infected animal
VECTORS: Ticks - Ixodes scapularis (formerly Ixodes dammini) - eastern and midwestern USA
Ixodes pacificus (western USA)
Ixodes ricinus (Europe)
Ixodes persulcatus (Asia)
DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY: Sensitive to doxycycline (adults) and amoxicillin (adults and children < 9 years); erythromycin for those allergic to penicillins or tetracyclines
SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISINFECTANTS: Susceptible to 1% sodium hypochlorite and 70% ethanol
PHYSICAL INACTIVATION: Sensitive to heat, UV
SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: Infected guinea pig blood - 28 to 35 days at room temperature; survives for short periods in urine; can survive up to 48 days at 4°C in human blood processed for transfusion
SURVEILLANCE: Monitor for appearance of typical lesions; serological tests (IFA, ELISA) show a rise in antibodies directed against the spirochete
FIRST AID/TREATMENT: Treatment of EM stage with doxycycline for adults and amoxicillin for children may prevent or lessen the severity of the major late cardiac, neurologic or arthritic complications
IMMUNIZATION: Newly developed recombinant outer-surface protein A vaccine (LYMErixT, SmithKline Beecham Biologicals) became licensed for use in the United States in December 1998
PROPHYLAXIS: Not generally warranted for a tick bite alone
LABORATORY-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS: None reported specifically for B. burgdorferi, however there have been 45 reported cases up to 1976 with 2 deaths for B. recurrentis and B. duttoni
SOURCES/SPECIMENS: Clinical specimens - blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, skin scrapings, retinal and synovial specimens; naturally or experimentally infected mammals, their ectoparasites and their infected tissues
PRIMARY HAZARDS: Accidental parenteral inoculation and exposure to infectious aerosols
SPECIAL HAZARDS: Ectoparasites (ticks) on laboratory animals
CONTAINMENT REQUIREMENTS: Biosafety Level 2 practices, containment equipment and facilities for activities involving known or potentially infectious materials, including necropsy of infected animals
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING: Laboratory coat; gloves should be worn during necropsy of infected animals and when contact with infectious materials is unavoidable
OTHER PRECAUTIONS: None
SPILLS: Allow aerosols to settle; wearing protective clothing, gently cover spill with paper towels and apply 1% sodium hypochlorite, starting at perimeter and working way towards the centre of the spill; allow sufficient contact time (30 min) before clean up
DISPOSAL: Decontaminate before disposal - steam sterilization, chemical disinfection, incineration
STORAGE: In sealed containers that are appropriately labelled
Date prepared: November 1999
Prepared by: Office of Laboratory Security, PHAC
Although the information, opinions and recommendations contained in this Material Safety Data Sheet are compiled from sources believed to be reliable, we accept no responsibility for the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability or for any loss or injury resulting from the use of the information. Newly discovered hazards are frequent and this information may not be completely up to date.
Copyright ©
Health Canada, 2001