MIGRANT CHRONIC ERYTHEMA (LYMES DISEASE) - CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC-STUDY OF 10 CASES

Migratory Chronic Erythema (MCE), which is the distinctive and diagnos tic lesion of Lyme's disease, could manifest itself under different cl inical manifestations. Following a clinical and a epidemiological poin t of view 10 cases of MCE, diagnosed during the last three years, have been studied and described. Its wide variability of the clinical mani festations is underlined, with a mean incubation period of 5,6 days be tween the onset of cutaneous symptoms and the tick bite. The zones mai nly affected were lower limbs followed by trunk and neck. Size of lesi on varied from 5 to 30 cm, with a mean of 13 cm. In two patients satel lite cutaneous lesions were observed and six showed extra-cutaneous si gns. Only in four patients antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi wer e detected. Regarding epidemiology we did not found differences betwee n the sexes, or by living on an urban or rural area. The tick bite was referred in half of the cases, 30% of the patients have a job related with wood, forest, farming or cattle. The season in which MCE was mos t frequent was spring-beginning of summer and end of summer-beginning of autumn. All patients responded to the therapy with tetracyclines an d/or macrolides.