Borrelia miyamotoi: A Lesson in Disease Discovery

EditorialsJuly 2, 2013Borrelia miyamotoi: A Lesson in Disease DiscoveryJohn A. Branda, MD and Eric S. Rosenberg, MDJohn A. Branda, MDFrom Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. and Eric S. Rosenberg, MDFrom Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-159-1-201307020-00009 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Recognition of novel infectious diseases has historically followed a prescribed course, which starts by defining a clinical syndrome. A prototypical example was the discovery of Lyme disease during the 1970s, which began with the description of epidemic oligoarticular arthritis (1), eventually followed by identification of the causative agent (2). In this issue, Chowdri and colleagues (3) contribute to the unfolding description of Borrelia miyamotoi infection—an illness with some similarities to Lyme disease but that was identified by reversing the traditional approach to disease discovery.In 1995, a novel Borrelia species was isolated from the hard (ixodid) tick vector of Lyme ...References1. Steere AC, Malawista SE, Snydman DR, Shope RE, Andiman WA, Ross MR, et al. Lyme arthritis: an epidemic of oligoarticular arthritis in children and adults in three connecticut communities. Arthritis Rheum. 1977;20:7-17. [PMID: 836338] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Steere AC, Grodzicki RL, Kornblatt AN, Craft JE, Barbour AG, Burgdorfer W, et al. The spirochetal etiology of Lyme disease. N Engl J Med. 1983;308:733-40. [PMID: 6828118] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Chowdri HR, Gugliotta JL, Berardi VP, Goethert HK, Molloy PJ, Sterling SL, et al. Borrelia miyamotoi infection presenting as human granulocytic anaplasmosis. A case report. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159:21-7. LinkGoogle Scholar4. Fukunaga M, Takahashi Y, Tsuruta Y, Matsushita O, Ralph D, McClelland M, et al. Genetic and phenotypic analysis of Borrelia miyamotoi sp. nov., isolated from the ixodid tick Ixodes persulcatus, the vector for Lyme disease in Japan. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1995;45:804-10. [PMID: 7547303] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Barbour AG, Bunikis J, Travinsky B, Hoen AG, Diuk-Wasser MA, Fish D, et al. Niche partitioning of Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi in the same tick vector and mammalian reservoir species. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009;81:1120-31. [PMID: 19996447] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Mun J, Eisen RJ, Eisen L, and Lane RS. Detection of a Borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato relapsing-fever group spirochete from Ixodes pacificus in California. J Med Entomol. 2006;43:120-3. [PMID: 16506458] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Richter D, Schlee DB, and Matuschka FR. Relapsing fever-like spirochetes infecting European vector tick of Lyme disease agent. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003;9:697-701. [PMID: 12781009] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Fraenkel CJ, Garpmo U, and Berglund J. Determination of novel Borrelia genospecies in Swedish Ixodes ricinus ticks. J Clin Microbiol. 2002;40:3308-12. [PMID: 12202571] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Platonov AE, Karan LS, Kolyasnikova NM, Makhneva , Toporkova MG, Maleev VV, et al. Humans infected with relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi, Russia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011;17:1816-23. [PMID: 22000350] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Krause PJ, Narasimhan S, Wormser GP, Rollend L, Fikrig E, Lepore T, et al. Human Borrelia miyamotoi infection in the United States [Letter]. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:291-3. [PMID: 23323920] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. Gugliotta JL, Goethert HK, Berardi VP, and Telford SR. Meningoencephalitis from Borrelia miyamotoi in an immunocompromised patient. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:240-5. [PMID: 23323900] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M13-1134.Corresponding Author: Eric S. Rosenberg, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Infectious Disease Division, Gray J-504, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Branda: GRB-526 Microbiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114.Dr. Rosenberg: Massachusetts General Hospital, Infectious Disease Division, Gray J-504, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoBorrelia miyamotoi Infection Presenting as Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis Hanumara Ram Chowdri , Joseph L. Gugliotta , Victor P. Berardi , Heidi K. Goethert , Philip J. Molloy , Sherri L. Sterling , and Sam R. Telford III Borrelia miyamotoi: More Lessons on Disease Discovery Durland Fish Metrics Cited ByBorrelia miyamotoi: More Lessons on Disease DiscoveryDurland Fish, PhD July 2, 2013Volume 159, Issue 1Page: 61-62KeywordsAminotransferasesArthritisBabesiosisCerebrospinal fluidDoxycyclineElderlyEnzyme immunoassayEnzyme linked immunosorbent assayFatigueFeversHeadachesInfectious diseasesLyme diseaseMeningoencephalitisMicroscopyMyalgiaPolymerase chain reactionProteinuriaSpirochetesTicks ePublished: 2 July 2013 Issue Published: July 2, 2013 CopyrightCopyright © 2013 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...