Borrelia recurrentis
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| ( Lebert 1874) Bergey et al. 1925 |
Borrelia recurrentis is a bacterium in the genus Borrelia . It is the causative agent of relapsing lice fever (epidemic relapsing fever). It was discovered as the first pathogen causing a human infectious disease by Otto Obermeier in 1868.
morphology
Like other spirochetes, Borrelia recurrentis is a very agile, helical or spiral-shaped bacterium. The pathogen has a few, relatively large turns. In vitro studies indicate that Borrelia are able to change their shape and take on a spherical shape under certain conditions.
The cell wall of Borrelia shows a high degree of antigen variability, as the antigens change from generation to generation. This makes it difficult for the human immune system to produce effective antibodies against the pathogen.
transmission
For Borrelia recurrentis , humans are the only hosts. The pathogen is transmitted from person to person by clothes lice ( Pediculus humanus ). The lice become infected by sucking infected blood . Infection of a new host occurs when body fluid from the louse - e.g. B. when scratching and crushing the insect - gets into a small skin wound. The Borrelia then reach other organs via blood and lymph . There they multiply and cause the typical clinical picture of relapsed lice fever.
proof
The pathogen is detected molecularly using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or microscopically in the patient's blood. For this purpose, the specimen is colored using Giemsa or Wright staining . Living pathogens can be detected by means of dark field or phase contrast microscopy .
cultivation
As with many other Borrelia species, the cultivation of Borrelia recurrentis is difficult and unreliable as evidence. The pathogen can be cultivated in vitro on special nutrient media ( BSK-II ), but may require an incubation of up to 4 weeks. Another difficulty is the isolation of the pathogens from body fluids (blood), which only succeeds in about 10–20% of cases.
| This text is based in whole or in part on the entry Borrelia recurrentis in Flexikon , a wiki of the DocCheck company . The takeover took place on December 22, 2006 under the then valid GNU license for free documentation . |
Reporting requirement
In Germany, direct or indirect evidence is subject to notification by name in accordance with Section 7 of the Infection Protection Act if the evidence indicates an acute infection.