New research shows heightened risk for Lyme disease

From Melissa Ross WJYT, Jacksonville, Fla.:

It's a groundbreaking medical finding on the UNF campus. Dr. Kerry Clark, University of North Florida associate professor of public health, and his colleagues have found two species of Lyme disease bacteria previously unknown to infect humans in patients.

These two Lyme disease species, Borrelia americana and Borrelia andersonii, were found in symptomatic patients living in the Southeastern United States. The commonly found lone star tick, formerly believed by many to be incapable of transmitting Lyme disease, was implicated in some of these cases.

His research, published in the May issue of The International Journal of Medical Sciences, is significant for several reasons. First, only one Lyme bacterial species, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, was previously recognized to cause disease in North America. Current testing methods and interpretation criteria, designed to detect just one species, may explain many of the complaints involving the unreliability of Lyme disease tests in the U.S.

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