Humans infected with relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi, Russia

Borrelia miyamotoi is distantly related to B. burgdorferi and transmitted by the same hard-body tick species. We report 46 cases of B. miyamotoi infection in humans and compare the frequency and clinical manifestations of this infection with those caused by B. garinii and B. burgdorferi infection. All 46 patients lived in Russia and had influenza-like illness with fever as high as 39.5°C; relapsing febrile illness occurred in 5 (11%) and erythema migrans in 4 (9%). In Russia, the rate of B. miyamotoi infection in Ixodes persulcatus ticks was 1%-16%, similar to rates in I. ricinus ticks in western Europe and I. scapularis ticks in the United States. B. miyamotoi infection may cause relapsing fever and Lyme disease-like symptoms throughout the Holarctic region of the world because of the widespread prevalence of this pathogen in its ixodid tick vectors.     

Human Infections with Borrelia miyamotoi,Japan

We confirmed infection of 2 patients with Borrelia miyamotoi in Japan by retrospective surveillance of Lyme disease patients and detection of B. miyamotoi DNA in serum samples. One patient also showed seroconversion for antibody against recombinant glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase of B. miyamotoi. Indigenous relapsing fever should be considered a health concern in Japan.     

Identifying relapsing fever Borrelia, Senegal

We describe a nested polymerase chain reaction for the identification of Borrelia species from serum of patients with unidentified fevers. This technique, based on single nucleotide polymorphisms of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, was used to test blood samples from 7,750 patients, 33 of whom were diagnosed with spirochete infections. Borrelia crocidurae was the only species identified.     

Tick-borne relapsing fever borreliosis, rural senegal

Detecting spirochetes remains challenging in cases of African tick-borne relapsing fever. Using real-time PCR specific for the 16S rRNA Borrelia gene, we found 27 (13%) of 206 samples from febrile patients in rural Senegal to be positive, whereas thick blood smear examinations conducted at dispensaries identified only 4 (2%) as positive.     

Molecular characterization of tickborne relapsing fever Borrelia, Israel

Blood samples from 18 tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) patients and Ornithodoros tholozani specimens were tested with a Borrelia flaB-PCR. Results were positive for all patients and 2%–40% of ticks. A 7–amino acid gap characterized all 9 sequenced flagellin gene amplicons. By phylogenetic analysis, Israel TBRF Borrelia sequences clustered separately from American and African groups.     

Borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato Seroreactivity and Seroprevalence in the Northeastern United States

Borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato, a relapsing fever Borrelia sp., is transmitted by the same ticks that transmit B. burgdorferi (the Lyme disease pathogen) and occurs in all Lyme disease�?"endemic areas of the United States. To determine the seroprevalence of IgG against B. miyamotoi sensu lato in the northeastern United States and assess whether serum from B. miyamotoi sensu lato�?"infected persons is reactive to B. burgdorferi antigens, we tested archived serum samples from area residents during 1991�?"2012. Of 639 samples from healthy persons, 25 were positive for B. miyamotoi sensu lato and 60 for B. burgdorferi. Samples from �%^10% of B. miyamotoi sensu lato�?"seropositive persons without a recent history of Lyme disease were seropositive for B. burgdorferi. Our resultsA suggest thatA human B. miyamotoiA sensu latoA infection may be common in southern New England and that B. burgdorferi antibody testing is not an effective surrogate for detecting B. miyamotoi sensu lato infection.     

Relapsing fever-like spirochetes infecting European vector tick of Lyme disease agent

To determine whether relapsing fever-like spirochetes associated with hard ticks may infect Ixodes ricinus ticks in central Europe, we screened questing ticks for 16S rDNA similar to that of Asian and American relapsing fever-like spirochetes. We compared the prevalence of these spirochetes to that of Lyme disease spirochetes transmitted by the same vector. Relapsing fever-like spirochetes infect 3.5% of questing vector ticks in our three central European sites near the Rhein Valley. These spirochetes differ genetically from their American and Asian analogs while being relatively homogeneous in the region we sampled. The Lyme disease genospecies most commonly detected in central Europe are distributed broadly, whereas those that are less frequently found appear to be place-specific. The absence of co-infected ticks suggests that relapsing fever-like and Lyme disease spirochetes may not share hosts. Exposure risk for relapsing fever-like spirochetes is similar to that of certain Lyme disease genospecies. Although many persons may be bitten by ticks infected by relapsing fever-like spirochetes, health implications remain unknown.     

浙江省在鼠类中检测到伯氏疏螺旋体ospA基因

目的了解浙江省磐安县鼠中感染伯氏疏螺旋体的情况,研究以外膜蛋白A(OspA)为靶基因的PCR方法在浙江省的应用。方法利用PCR方法,检测磐安县128份鼠肝、脾标本中ospA基因特异片段;对所检测到的阳性结果进行序列测定,并进行分析。结果从128份鼠肝、脾标本中检测发现4例ospA基因阳性片段,其中3份来自黄毛鼠,1份来自大林姬鼠;核酸序列基本一致,与伯氏疏螺旋体法雷斯疏螺旋体高度相似。结论利用ospA基因能从标本中检测到伯氏疏螺旋体;浙江省部分山区存在鼠感染伯氏疏螺旋体的情况,其中伯氏疏螺旋体法雷斯疏螺旋体占优势。     

Typing of lymphogranuloma venereum Chlamydia trachomatis strains

We analyzed by multilocus sequence typing 77 lymphogranuloma venereum Chlamydia trachomatis strains from men who have sex with men in Europe and the United States. Specimens from an outbreak in 2003 in Europe were monoclonal. In contrast, several strains were in the United States in the 1980s, including a variant from Europe.     

猩红热患儿A族链球菌emm基因分型及地域与毒力基因分布相关研究

 目的 探讨猩红热儿童分离来源的A族链球菌（GAS）emm分型、地域与毒力基因分布的相关性。方法 采集北京和上海地区猩红热患儿标本进行GAS分离鉴定,应用聚合酶链式反应（PCR）方法检测emm基因型以及13种毒力基因（speA、speB、speC、speF、speG、speH、speI、speJ、speK、speL、speM、ssa和smeZ）携带情况,分析GAS菌株毒力基因分布与地域、emm基因型的关系。结果 114株GAS分离株中,emm1.0型60株,emm12.0型54株;52株分离自北京（emm1.0型31株,emm12.0型21株）,62株分离自上海（emm1.0型29株,emm12.0型33株）。speA、speC、speG、speH、speI、speJ、speK、ssa和smeZ基因携带率分别为52.6％、76.3％、80.7％、43.9％、55.3％、57.0％、75.4％、97.4％、93.0％,speB和speF携带率均为98.2%,未检出speL、speM基因。北京地区emm1.0型与emm12.0 GAS菌株speA、speH、speI和speJ基因携带率比较,上海地区emm1.0型与emm12.0 GAS菌株speA、speH、speI、speJ和speK基因携带率比较,差异均有统计学意义（均P<0.05）。emm1.0型GAS菌株speC、speH、speJ和speK基因携带率北京与上海两地区比较,差异均有统计学意义（均P<0.05）,emm12.0型GAS菌株speC、speH、speI、speJ和speK基因北京与上海两地区比较,差异均有统计学意义（均P<0.05）。结论 GAS菌株毒力基因的分布状态因emm基因分型及地域不同存在差异。     

斑点热群立克次体实时荧光定量PCR检测方法的 建立及应用

摘要:目的　探讨实时荧光定量PCR快速检测斑点热群立克次体标本的应用价值。方法　根据斑点热群立克次体外膜蛋白A（OmpA）基因保守序列设计TaqMan特异性探针和引物,进行实时荧光定量PCR方法学评估,并同时运用该法和普通PCR法对对海南省2012年不明原因发热病人157份血标本进行斑点热群立克次体的检测及结果分析。结果　本研究建立的定量标准曲线循环阈值（Ct值）和模板拷贝数呈良好的线性关系（R2值为0.998）。该法能检出斑点热群立克次体阳性标准品—西伯利亚立克次体（R.sibirica）最小浓度为102 copies/μl,灵敏度比普通PCR高100倍。用该法检测斑点热群立克次体DNA,结果为阳性,检测金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌、致泻性大肠埃希菌和副溶血弧菌等其他病原细菌DNA结果均为阴性。采用实时荧光定量PCR法对实验室库存的发热病人血标本DNA进行回顾性检测,结果示阳性2例,检出率为1.2%（2/157）,而普通PCR检测结果均为阴性。结论　实时荧光定量PCR法具有快速、特异和灵敏的优点,在处理突发公共卫生事件中可发挥快速检测的优势,在斑点热诊断中具有重要的临床意义。     

浙江省蜱标本中斑点热群立克次体rOmpA和gltA基因检测

目的了解浙江省部分山区蜱中感染斑点热群立克次体的状况,探讨以外膜蛋白A（rOmpA）和柠檬酸合成酶基因（gltA）为靶基因的PCR方法可行性。方法利用PCR方法,检测天台县左溪镇和临安县西天目地区共46组蜱类标本中rOmpA和gltA基因特异片段。对所检测到的阳性结果进行克隆与序列测定,并进行聚类分析。结果从46组蜱标本中检测发现2组长角血蜱中斑点热群立克次体的rOmpA和gltA基因片段均为阳性,核酸序列基本一致,但推测斑点热群立克次体种的进化位置存在差异。结论浙江省部分山区存在蜱中感染斑点热群立克次体的状况。利用rOmpA和gltA基因能从标本中检测到斑点热群立克次体,但从2个结果推测立克次体的分类位置存在差异。