Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35057826›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2022

No molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in the blood of patients with erythema migrans in Belgium.

Laurence Geebelen, Tinne Lernout, Katrien Tersago, Sanne Terryn, Joppe W Hovius, Arieke Docters van Leeuwen, Steven Van Gucht, Niko Speybroeck, Hein Sprong

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Observational
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Assembly and Comparison ofMicroorganisms · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Laurence GeebelenScientific Directorate of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium. Laurence.Geebelen@sciensano.be.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8990-2187
Tinne LernoutScientific Directorate of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Katrien TersagoScientific Directorate of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Sanne TerrynScientific Directorate of Infectious Diseases in Humans, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Joppe W HoviusAmsterdam UMC Multidisciplinary Lyme Borreliosis Center, Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), Location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Arieke Docters van LeeuwenCentre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Steven Van GuchtScientific Directorate of Infectious Diseases in Humans, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Niko SpeybroeckInstitute of Health and Society (IRSS), Université Catholique de Louvain, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium.
Hein SprongCentre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Sciensano (Belgium) · BENational Institute for Public Health and the Environment · NLAmsterdam University Medical Centers · NLFlemish Government · BEUCLouvain · BE

Funding

European Interreg North Sea Region program NorthTick projectSciensano 1180-101ZonMw 522003007
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA number of tick-borne pathogens circulate in the Belgian tick population in addition to the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis. However, so far, only a few patients with tick-borne diseases other than Lyme borreliosis have been reported in Belgium. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of other human tick-borne infections in Belgium and their possible clinical manifestation.

methodsPatients with fever (> 37.5 °C) after a tick bite or those with erythema migrans (EM) were included in the study. EDTA-blood samples were screened for the presence of DNA from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, spotted fever group rickettsiae (genus Rickettsia), Babesia spp., Bartonella spp., Spiroplasma ixodetis and tick-borne encephalitis virus, using multiplex PCR methods. A questionnaire on, among others, demographics and clinical symptoms, was also filled in.

resultsOver a period of 3 years, 119 patients with EM and 14 patients with fever after a recent tick bite were enrolled in the study. Three samples initially tested positive for N. mikurensis by quantitative PCR (qPCR), but the results could not be confirmed by other PCR methods, and repetition of the DNA extraction procedure and qPCR test was not successful. The qPCR test results for the other tick-borne pathogens were negative.

conclusionsIn general, only a few patients with fever after a tick bite could be identified. Although no tick-borne pathogens were detected, their occurrence cannot be excluded based on the limited number of patients and the limitations inherent to current methodologies. This study underscores the possibility of false-positive PCR results and the necessity for the development of multiple independent tools for the sensitive and specific detection of emerging tick-borne pathogens.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAnimalsBabesiaBelgiumBorreliaErythemaFemaleFeverHumansMaleMiddle AgedRickettsiaTick BitesErythema migransIxodes ricinusLyme borreliosisNeoehrlichosisNeoerhlichia mikurensisTick-borne pathogens

Identifiers

PMID35057826
PMCPMC8772185
OpenAlexW4206753505

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.