Borrelia recurrentis

• What does Borrelia recurrentis cause?


  • Relapsing fever
• What 2 types of relapsing fever?


  • Louse-borne relapsing fever
  • Tick-borne relapsing fever
• What is the causative agent for louse-borne relapsing fever?


  • Borrelia recurrentis
  • transmitted to humans by human body louse
• What are the characteristics of tick-borne relapsing fever?


  • Several Borrelia species can cause this disease
  • Transmitted to humans by soft ticks of genus Ornithodorus
  • Ticks and rodents are common reservoirs of infection
• What is Borrelia recurrentis characterized by?


  • recurring episodes of septicemia and fever
  • due to body's repeated efforts to remove the spirochetes
  • Observations of spirochetes is the primary method of diagnosis
  • Successful treatment is doxycycline or erythromycin