Microscopy procedures for direct pathogen detection in Lyme borreliosis

Dark-field microscopy, fuchsin stain and Fontana silver stain were used for a rapid detection of spirochaetes in fresh materials from patients with Lyme-borreliosis. The spirochaetes were shown to be present in 2 cerebrospinal fluids, 2 synovial fluids and in one brain cyst fluid. It is pointed out that these techniques require further improvement and optimization.