Coexistence of antibodies to tick-borne agents of babesiosis and Lyme borreliosis in patients from Cotia county, State of São Paulo, Brazil

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2003 Apr;98(3):311-8. doi: 10.1590/s0074-02762003000300004. Epub 2003 Jul 18.

Abstract

This paper reports a case of coinfection caused by pathogens of Lyme disease and babesiosis in brothers. This was the first case of borreliosis in Brazil, acquired in Cotia County, State of S o Paulo, Brazil. Both children had tick bite history, presented erythema migrans, fever, arthralgia, mialgia, and developed positive serology (ELISA and Western-blotting) directed to Borrelia burgdorferi G 39/40 and Babesia bovis antigens, mainly of IgM class antibodies, suggestive of acute disease. Also, high frequencies of antibodies to B. bovis was observed in a group of 59 Brazilian patients with Lyme borreliosis (25.4%), when compared with that obtained in a normal control group (10.2%) (chi-square = 5.6; p < 0.05). Interestingly, both children presented the highest titers for IgM antibodies directed to both infective diseases, among all patients with Lyme borreliosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Antibodies, Protozoan / blood
  • Babesia bovis / immunology*
  • Babesiosis / complications
  • Babesiosis / immunology*
  • Blotting, Western
  • Borrelia burgdorferi / immunology*
  • Brazil
  • Cattle
  • Child
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Humans
  • Insect Bites and Stings / complications*
  • Lyme Disease / complications
  • Lyme Disease / immunology*
  • Male
  • Ticks*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Antibodies, Protozoan