LYME BORRELIOSIS IN CHILE - REPORT OF A C HILD PROBABLY INFECTED BY IMPORTED PETS

Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, has sever al clinical manifestations and is transmitted to man by tick bites. In chile and Latin America, several cases have been reported, but none w ith immnoblot confirmation or isolation of the infecting organism. We report a 9 year old boy consulting with bilateral facial palsy, polyra diculoneuritis with tetraparesis and meningeal irritation. Cerebrospin al fluid analysis showed increased protein concentration without pleoc ytosis and negative viral or bacterial cultures. IgM antibodies agains t Borrelia burgdorferi, were positive by ELISA and were confirmed by i mmunoblot at the Reference Laboratory of the University of Connecticut . The child had a recent contact with hamsters brought from Germany. T he substantiation of Lyme disease existence in Chile should prompt the search and isolation of the causal agent.