IDENTIFICATION OF BORRELIA-BURGDORFERI SENSU LATE TICK ISOLATES FROM SLOVAKIA BY PCR TYPING WITH 16S RIBOSOMAL-RNA PRIMERS

The first four strains of Borrelia burgdorferi isolated in Slovakia fr om ticks and mice were studied using monoclonal antibodies, the polyme rase chain reaction (PCR) with 16S rRNA specific primers and plasmid p rofiles. Two tick isolates were typed as Borrelia garinii, one strain isolated from Apodemus flavicollis was found to be B. afzelii and the fourth tick isolate reacted as a mixed culture of B. garinii and B. af zelii. All four strains harboured several plasmids ranging from 6-50 k bp including a plasmid with a size of approximately 41 kbp.