Persistent Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Infection after Antibiotic Treatment : Systematic Overview and Appraisal of the Current Evidence from Experimental Animal Models

Lyme borreliosis is caused by spirochetes belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, which are transmitted by Ixodes tick species living in the temperate climate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. The clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis are diverse and treated with oral or intravenous antibiotics. In some patients, long-lasting and debilitating symptoms can persist after the recommended antibiotic treatment. The etiology of such persisting symptoms is under debate, and one hypothesis entails persistent infection by a subset of spirochetes after antibiotic therapy. Here, we review and appraise the experimental evidence from in vivo animal studies on the persistence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato infection after antibiotic treatment, focusing on the antimicrobial agents doxycycline and ceftriaxone. Our review indicates that some in vivo animal studies found sporadic positive cultures after antibiotic treatment. However, this culture positivity often seemed to be related to inadequate antibiotic treatment, and the few positive cultures in some studies could not be reproduced in other studies. Overall, current results from animal studies provide insufficient evidence for the persistence of viable and infectious spirochetes after adequate antibiotic treatment. Borrelial nucleic acids, on the contrary, were frequently detected in these animal studies and may thus persist after antibiotic treatment. We put forward that research into the pathogenesis of persisting complaints after antibiotic treatment for Lyme borreliosis in humans should be a top priority, but future studies should most definitely also focus on explanations other than persistent B. burgdorferi sensu lato infection after antibiotic treatment.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2022

Erschienen:

2022

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:35

Enthalten in:

Clinical microbiology reviews - 35(2022), 4 vom: 21. Dez., Seite e0007422

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Verschoor, Y L [VerfasserIn]
Vrijlandt, A [VerfasserIn]
Spijker, R [VerfasserIn]
van Hest, R M [VerfasserIn]
Ter Hofstede, H [VerfasserIn]
van Kempen, K [VerfasserIn]
Henningsson, A J [VerfasserIn]
Hovius, J W [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Animal
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antibacterial agents
Borrelia burgdorferi
Disease models
Dogs
Drug effects
Drug therapy
Journal Article
Lyme disease
Macaca mulatta
Mice
Microbiology
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review
Therapeutic use

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 23.12.2022

Date Revised 13.10.2023

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1128/cmr.00074-22

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM347378692