Borrelia burgdorferi - Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

 

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET - INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCES

SECTION I - INFECTIOUS AGENT

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

SECTION II - HEALTH HAZARD

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

SECTION III - DISSEMINATION

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)

SECTION IV - VIABILITY

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

SECTION V - MEDICAL

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

SECTION VI - LABORATORY HAZARDS

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

SECTION VII - RECOMMENDED PRECAUTIONS

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

SECTION VIII - HANDLING INFORMATION

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

SECTION IX - MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

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