title: Molecular detection of Borrelia bissettii DNA in serum samples from patients in the Czech Republic with suspected borreliosis.
abstract: Until recently, three spirochete genospecies were considered to be the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Europe: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii. However, the DNA of Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmanii and Borrelia bissettii has already been detected in samples of human origin, or the spirochetes were isolated from the patients with symptoms of LB. Molecular analysis of 12 selected serum samples collected in the regional hospital confirmed the presence of B. bissettii DNA in cases of single and multiple infection in patients with symptomatic borreliosis or chronic borrelial infection. The presence of B. bissettii as a single strain in patients provides strong support of the fact that B. bissettii might be a causative agent of the disease. After the first isolation of B. bissettii from the samples of human origin in Slovenia, following the detection of this species in cardiac valve tissue of the patient with endocarditis and aortic valve stenosis in the Czech Republic, here we present additional molecular data supporting the involvement of B. bissettii in LB in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Parasitology AS CR, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in Ceské Budejovice, Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic. natasha@paru.cas.cz
authors.forename: Nataliia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rudenko
authors.forename: Maryna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Golovchenko
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Růzek
authors.forename: Natalja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Piskunova
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mallátová
authors.forename: Libor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grubhoffer
mesh_terms: D001898:Borrelia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018153:Czech Republic; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D044967:Serum / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S