Failure to Identify Borrelia burgdorferi in Southern California Ticks by DNA Amplification

In the absence of erythema migrans or late systemic sequelae, the diagnosis of lyme borreliosis after tick exposure remains difficult. Problems include the nonspecific nature of patient complaints, lack of serologic standardization, and difficulty propagating the spirochete in artificial culture medium. Magid et al. 1 recently suggested that prophylactic antibodies given after tick exposure may be cost effective in areas where Borrelia Burgdorferi is hyperendemic. Knowledge of the prevalence patterns of B. burgdorferi infection in potential tick vectors would be useful in assessing the risk of Lyme borreliosis in exposed patients and the utility of antimicrobial prophylaxis. We used polymerase chain reaction PCR to screen Southern California ticks for B. Burgdorferi.