PREVALENCE OF ANTI BORRELIA ANTIBODIES IN CHILDREN WITH ARTHRITIS IN THE CAMPANIA REGION OF ITALY

Very little data is currently available on the circulation of Borrelia burgdorferi in the Campania region in Southern Italy. In order to ass ess the presence of the Lyme disease in this region, 55 children (19 b oys, 36 girls) were studied age ranging from 2 to 16 (mean age 7.7), f rom various areas ir? the Campania region, both urban and rural or woo dy areas Of these, 17 children presented acute (duration less than 15 days) or recurrent mono-oligoarthritis, while 38 had chronic arthritis . The control groups were of 60 children without arthritis and 43 adul ts with rheumatoid arthritis. Significant levels of anti Borrelia burg dorferi were observed solely in serum specimens taken from five childr en with arthritis. Four of these children belonged to the group of pat ients with acute or recurrent arthritis, and one belonged to the group of children with chronic arthritis. In these se ra the simultaneous p resence of a positive result by IFI with a level greater than or equal to 1:320 was observed, as well as a positive result by Western Immuno blot (antibody profile with reactivity towards at least four borrelia antigenic fractions). None of the case histories of the five patients presented any tick bites, or the appearance of migrating chronic eryth ema. A doubtful result was observed in 4 children with arthritis and i n one child in the control group. The remaining serum specimens that w ere analysed did not present significant levels of anti Borrelia burgd orferi antibodies.