Isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi from biopsy specimens taken from healthy-looking skin of patients with Lyme borreliosis

Abstract

Erythematous skin lesions due to infection with Borrelia burgdorferi will often disappear without antibiotic treatment. The aim of the study was to assess whether after disappearance of the erythematous skin lesion B. burgdorferi is still present in the healthy-looking skin of untreated patients. In six patients, a skin biopsy specimen was taken at the site of a previous erythematous skin lesion 1 to 6 months after disappearance of the lesion. Four of them presented with early disseminated Lyme borreliosis. In one additional patient with early disseminated Lyme borreliosis, the site of a previous tick bite was biopsied. None of these patients had been treated with antibiotics before presentation. The cultures of the skin biopsy specimens of the seven patients showed growth of Borrelia species. By rRNA gene restriction analysis and genospecies-specific PCR, six isolates were classified as Borrelia garinii and one as Borrelia group VS461. These results show that B. burgdorferi can still be cultured from the skin after disappearance of the erythematous skin lesion or at the site of a previous tick bite.