ArticleBMC infectious diseases2018
Evidence of rickettsiae in Danish patients tested for Lyme neuroborreliosis: a retrospective study of archival samples.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Authors' Reply to the Comment by L. Saher and Drs. Qayyum and Aziz Dalton on the Article "Clinical Characteristics in Danish Children and Adults Diagnosed With Neuroborreliosis: A Retrospective Study From January 2016 to January 2024".European journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Deep sequencing of 16mSystems · 2025Article
- Seroprevalence of tick-borne infections in blood donors in Europe: a systematic review.New microbes and new infections · 2025Review
- Self-reported symptoms and health complaints associated with exposure to Ixodes ricinus-borne pathogens.Parasites & vectors · 2022Article
- Human Co-Infections betweenPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- A tick bite patient with fever and meningitis co-infected with Rickettsia raoultii and Tacheng tick virus 1: a case report.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Evaluation of Disease Causality of RarePathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWith a prevalence of 4.7-13% in Danish Ixodes ricinus ticks, Rickettsia helvetica is one of the most frequently detected tick-borne organisms in Denmark. Most reports of human exposure have described asymptomatic seroconversion or a mild, self-limiting flu-like illness but it has also been implicated as a cause of subacute lymphocytic meningitis. Because Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) and R. helvetica are both found in the same tick species, potential co-transmission is a possibility. We examined 1) the seroprevalence of anti-rickettsia antibodies in patients investigated for Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), and 2) the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and sera of same patients for the presence of Rickettsia DNA.
methodsNinety-nine sera and 87 CSF samples from patients with intrathecal synthesis of anti-Borrelia antibodies and 101 sera and 103 CSF samples from patients with no detectable intrathecal synthesis were retrospectively examined for this study. Sera were analyzed for antibodies against spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae and both the CSF and sera were tested for Rickettsia DNA using a genus-specific real-time PCR.
resultsOf the patients tested for LNB, 32% (64/200) had IgG antibodies against SFG rickettsiae. Among patients with confirmed intrathecal synthesis of Borrelia-specific antibodies, 38% (38/99) exhibited IgG antibodies. None of these values were statistically significant when compared with sera from healthy blood donors (p = 0.7 and 0.19). Rickettsia DNA was found in the CSF of 4% (8/190) of patients.
conclusionNo statistically significant difference was found in the seroprevalence of anti-rickettsia antibodies in patients tested for LNB and healthy blood donors, indicative of a low rate of exposure in this group of patients. Eight patients showed evidence of Rickettsia DNA in the CSF, five of whom had LNB. However, cycle threshold (Ct) values were high, indicating low concentrations of DNA, and no apparent alteration in the clinical manifestations of LNB were noted in the medical records of these patients.
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