Topic: Why NOT Borrelia? Absence of proof does not always equate proof of absence
treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
Melanie Reber said
My question is always why NOT Borrelia? Absence of proof does not always equate proof of absence.
Until 100% proven otherwise, I will continue to consider all TBDs to be STDs as well. (yes, this is my opinion. As opinions go, it will not be accepted by everyone, but that is fine)
If anyone is not aware of the research that has been conducted re: congenital means...here you go.
Fetal:
Gestational Lyme borreliosis. Implications for the fetus. MacDonald AB. Rheum Dis Clin North Am, 15(4):657-77. 1989.
Autopsy and clinical studies have associated gestational Lyme borreliosis with various medical problems including fetal death, hydrocephalus, cardiovascular anomalies, neonatal respiratory distress, hyperbilirubinemia, intrauterine growth retardation, cortical blindness, sudden infant death syndrome, and maternal toxemia of pregnancy.
Borrelia burgdorferi in a newborn despite oral penicillin for Lyme borreliosis during pregnancy. Weber K, Bratzke HJ, Neubert U, Wilske B, Duray PH. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 7:286-9. 1988.
Congenital infections and the nervous system. Bale JF Jr, Murph JR. Pediatr Clin North Am Aug;39(4):669-90 1992
Despite vaccines, new antimicrobials, and improved hygienic practices, congenital infections remain an important cause of death and long-term neurologic morbidity among infants world-wide. In addition, several other agents, such as the varicella zoster virus, human parvovirus B19, and Borrelia burgdorferi, can potentially infect the fetus and cause adverse fetal outcomes.
Maternal-fetal transmission of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Schlesinger PA, Duray PH, Burke BA, Steere AC, Stillman MT. Ann Intern Med. 1985 Jul;103(1):67-8. PMID: 4003991
"Transplacental infection by Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the agent of Lyme Borreliosis (LB), has recently been documented (L.E. Markowitz, et al; P.A. Schlesinger, et al). Fetal infection confirmed by culture has been reported by A.B. MacDonald (in press) from a highly endemic region (Long Island, NY).
We report a culture positive neonatal death occurring in California, a low endemic region. The boy was born by C-section because of fetal distress. He initially appeared normal. He was readmitted at age 8 days with profound lethargy leading to unresponsiveness. Marked peripheral cyanosis, systemic hypertension, metabolic acidosis, myocardial dysfunction, & abdominal aortic thrombosis were found. Death ensued. Bb was grown from a frontal cerebral cortex inoculation. The spirochete appeared similar to the original Long Island tick isolate. Silver stain of brain & heart was confirmatory of tissue infection.
The infant was the second born to a California native. The 20 m/o sibling was well. The mother had been having migratory arthralgias and malaise since experiencing horse fly & mosquito bites while camping on the Maine coast in 1971. The family was seronegative for LB by ELISA at Yale. Cardiolipin antibodies were also not found."
Stillbirth following maternal Lyme disease. MacDonald AB, Benach JL, Burgdorfer W. N Y State J Med, Nov;87(11):615-6 1987
The infectious origins of stillbirth. Goldenberg RL, Thompson C. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Sep; 189(3):861-73. 2003. PMID: 14526331
Toxoplasma gondii, leptospirosis, Listeria monocytogenes, and the organisms that cause leptospirosis, Q fever, and Lyme disease have all been implicated as etiologic for stillbirth.
Lyme disease during pregnancy. Markowitz LE, Steere AC, Benach JL, Slade JD, Broome CV. JAMA Jun 27;255(24):3394-6. 1986.
Of the 19 pregnancies, five had adverse outcomes, including syndactyly, cortical blindness, intrauterine fetal death, prematurity, and rash in the newborn. Adverse outcomes occurred in cases with infection during each of the trimesters. Although B burgdorferi could not be implicated directly in any of the adverse outcomes, the frequency of such outcomes warrants further surveillance and studies of pregnant women with Lyme disease.
Human fetal borreliosis, toxemia of pregnancy, and fetal death. MacDonald AB. Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg [A]. Dec; 263(1-2):189-200. 1986. PMID: 3554838
Tick-borne relapsing fever and pregnancy outcome in rural Tanzania. Jongen VH, van Roosmalen J, Tiems J, Van Holten J, Wetsteyn JC. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. Oct; 76(9):834-8. 1997. PMID: 9351408
The impact of tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) on pregnancy outcome was investigated in a case-control study of 137 pregnant women and 120 non-pregnant women infected with this condition and treated at a rural hospital in Tanzania's Tabora region during 1985-95. The risk of premature delivery during TBRF was 58%, with a perinatal mortality of 436 per 1000 births. Total pregnancy loss, including abortions, was 475 per 1000. The case-fatality rate was 1.5% in pregnant women compared with 1.7% in non-pregnant controls. The relapse rate was 3.6% in pregnant women and 1.7% in controls. Pregnant women with TBRF had higher densities of spirochetes than controls, and the risk of delivery during an attack was significantly correlated with increasing spirochete density and gestational age.
Infections in Obstetrics: Lyme disease during Pregnancy Helayne M. Silver, MD Infectious Disease Clinics of North America Vol 11 Number 1 1 March, 1997
The infant had severe congenital cardiac defects resulting in neonatal death at 39 hours of life. The neonatal autopsy revealed hypoplastic left side of heart and other cardiac anomalies. Spirochetes compatible with B. burgdorferi were found in the spleen, kidneys, and bone marrow; however, no inflammatory response to the organisms was seen.
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