ISOLATION OF BORRELIA-BURGDORFERI FROM BIOPSY SPECIMENS TAKEN FROM HEALTHY-LOOKING SKIN OF PATIENTS WITH LYME BORRELIOSIS

Erythematous skin lesions due to infection with Borrelia bargdorferi w ill often disappear without antibiotic treatment. The aim of the study was to assess whether after disappearance of the erythematous skin le sion B. burgdorferi is still present in the healthy-looking skin of un treated patients. In six patients, a skin biopsy specimen was taken at the site of a previous erythematous skin lesion 1 to 6 months after d isappearance of the lesion. Four of them presented with early dissemin ated Lyme borreliosis. In one additional patient with early disseminat ed Lyme borreliosis, the site of a previous tick bite was biopsied. No ne of these patients had been treated with antibiotics before presenta tion. The cultures of the skin biopsy specimens of the seven patients showed growth of Borrelia species. By rRNA gene restriction analysis a nd genospecies-specific PCR, six isolates were classified as Borrelia garinii and one as Borrelia group VS461. These results show that B. bu rgdorferi can still be cultured from the skin after disappearance of t he erythematous skin lesion or at the site of a previous tick bite.