Researchers Identify Bacterial Strain Linked to Lyme Disease

Medical investigators have identified a single bacterial strain that causes Lyme disease in patients on two continents and may be responsible for a growing number of severe, invasive cases in the United States and Europe since the 1980s.

Dr. Ben Luft and colleagues at Stony Brook University Medical Center have isolated a strain of Borrelia burgdorferi _ the bacterium that causes Lyme _ and declared it prevalent not only in the United States, but also Europe. The finding, considered unusual, is reported in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“We studied a large number of strains from throughout the United States and Europe, well over 100 strains,” Luft said Wednesday. “But there was only one that was identical. And when you consider that we are a world apart separated by an ocean where there is no common interaction … it is surprising to find that (the American and European strains) were the same.”

He believes migratory birds may have transported the strain across continents. Luft said the strain is responsible for 30 percent to 40 percent of all cases of Lyme.

Lyme is the most common tick-transmitted disorder in the United States. It may start as a rash, but an invasive form, caused by a bacterium like the one identified by Luft and his colleagues, can enter the bloodstream and attack major organs. Invasive Lyme has become more prevalent over the last 20 years.

Long Island is endemic for the disease, particularly Suffolk County, where the majority of cases occur. Suffolk Health Commissioner David Graham hailed the new research yesterday, saying answers are needed to help keep pace with the growing incidence of Lyme.

Last year, federal investigators reported cases of Lyme had more than doubled since 1991, with 93 percent of all cases concentrated in New York and nine other states.

“Lyme disease is a serious, chronic problem, especially when it is not detected right away,” Graham said. “I am pleased that they’re looking into the virulence of these strains from throughout the world. That’s very important basic research on the disease pathogen.”

Graham estimates 585 cases occurred in Suffolk last year, up dramatically from 2006, when there were 190. However, there were 542 in 2005. In Nassau, there were 123 last year, 109 in 2006 and 135 in 2005.

Advocates for patients applauded the finding, saying the discovery helps explain cases of long-term Lyme disease.

Eva Haughie, president of the Empire State Lyme Disease Association, said 15 members of her immediate and extended family developed Lyme disease. Even her dog got Lyme and died of the disorder. “We’ve known this all along that there is a difference in virulence,” said Haughie, referring to the differing strains of Lyme bacteria.

Some patients say their bout with Lyme was short-lived; others have suffered a variety of symptoms for years. In Haughie’s case, she suffered a form of memory impairment comparable to Alzheimer’s. Her daughters have what many patients refer to as persistent Lyme.

___

(c) 2008, Newsday.

Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.