Variety Essential to Borrelian Life

We always hear that variety is the spice of life. Doing different things and going to different places adds a certain extra to life. For Borrelia burgdorferi variety is a matter of life or death. Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterium that causes Lyme disease. This disease is very commonly seen in the northeastern parts of the United States and in Europe. Borrelia burgdorferi can survive in humans and in certain mammals (white tailed deer in the United States).

Ticks carry the bacterium from the deer to humans. The tick will feed for 3-5 days on a person if not removed. Borrelia burgdorferi is usually not transmitted to humans for about 12-24 hours after the tick attaches to a human. Early symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, profound tiredness, headache, chills, and backache. A red rash can sometimes develop 2-30 days after the tick attaches. This rash grows in size and can get to be very large. It will eventually go away however if a person is not treated with an antibiotic Borrelia burgdorferi can cause other problems. Untreated people with Lyme disease can develop neurological, heart, and joint problems.

Diversity for Borrelia burgdorferi begins when the tick starts feeding on a person. If this bacterium does not make a diverse population of itself before invading humans it would be quickly eliminated in the bloodstream. A recent study by Aravinda M. de Silva, PhD,  and his colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine found that while ticks feed on humans the bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, inside the tick can change the proteins on the outer surface of their cells. Just before feeding the bacteria are pretty much identical to each other. However, when the ticks start feeding the bacteria start diversifying.

As a result, a very diverse population of bacteria enter the bloodstream. Some will be killed off by the immune system however others will survive and multiply. Previously scientists thought the bacteria were pretty much all of one type while in the tick and of a different type while growing in humans. That is because they did not look at the bacteria while the ticks were feeding. The scientists at the University of North Carolina did. They discovered that the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi from ticks to humans is more complex than originally thought. It may also help us produce more effective vaccines to prevent this infection.

There currently is a vaccine for Lyme disease. The vaccine contains an outer surface protein from Borrelia burgdorferi called OspA. Fortunately, for recipients of the vaccine this is one protein that is found on all the Borrelia burgdorferi even while the tick is feeding

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