Antibodies and T-cell reactivity to Borrelia burgdorferi in an asymptomatic population: A study of healthy blood donors in an inland town district inthe south-east of Sweden

To address the issue of whether Borrelia infection can be asymptomatic, blo od donors with no history of borreliosis (n=408) were screened for antibodi es against Borrelia burgdorferi. Seropositive individuals (n=17) were furth er investigated with respect to Borrelia-specific T-cell reactivity, using an interferon-gamma ELISPOT assay. Anti-Borrelia antibodies as well as Borr elia-specific T-cell responses were evident in 9 asymptomatic donors, stron gly supporting a current or previous asymptomatic Borrelia infection.