Lyme disease: The Borrelia mayonii discovery

A recent study published in the Entomological Society of America's Journal of Medical Entomology demonstrates the duration of attachment of a single nymphal blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) needed for the tick to be likely to transmit the bacterial species Borrelia mayonii, identified in 2016, is 48 hours or more, according to the study. By 72 hours, however, likelihood of transmission has risen significantly. This timeframe aligns with existing research on Borrelia burgdorferi, previously the sole bacteria species known to cause Lyme disease in the United States. Director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory in Mayo Clinic's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Bobbi Pritt, MD joined me in Feb. 2016 to discuss the discovery of Borrelia mayonii.