Borrelia microtti and Borrelia persica are two Iranian strains of spirochetes whose vectors are Ornithodorous tholozani and Ornithodorous erraticus which are responsible for relapsing fever. BSK medium has been used for in vitro culture of other strains of borrelia, although the two mentioned strains could not be successfully cultured in it. We have modified BSK medium by using guinea pig and fetal calf serum instead of rabbit serum. It was observed that for in vitro culture of Borrelia persica, guinea pig serum and for Borrelia microtti, fetal calf serum show the best growth.      

A 16-year-old male with headache, vomiting, fever, neck stiffness, and a positive Kerning"s sign was referred to Boali Medical Center. The cerebrospinal fluid examination revealed a lymphocytic meningitis, and the blood smears was positive for Borrelia. He was successfully treated with doxycycline.

Background: We aimed to determine the geographical features and seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Erzincan, Turkey, which has a high tick population due to its geographical position and climatic conditions. Methods: From January to December 2014, 368 people living in Erzincan, northeastern Turkey were enrolled. B. burgdorferi IgG antibodies were investigated in the collected serum samples using the ELISA method in 2015. Positive and borderline results were confirmed using the Western Blot (WB) method. Results: Borrelia burgdorferi IgG positivity was found to be 4. 1% by ELISA and 2. 17% by WB. Of the seropositive people according to WB, 25% resided in areas within 2000m of rivers, 50% in areas with a slope of 0– 5° , and 62. 5% in areas with an altitude of lower than 1500 meters. Conclusion: The seroprevalence of Lyme borreliosis was high in Erzincan, particularly among people engaged in animal husbandry in rural areas. In addition, the seroprevalence of Borrelia varied according to geographical features, increasing in areas with a lower slope and altitude.

Introduction: Spirochetes of Borrelia can be visualized directly in infected ticks by dark-field microscopy. Inoculation of in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) suspension of ground Argasid soft ticks to susceptible animals or allowing the ticks to feed on the same species followed by microscopic examination of the animals’ blood have also been practiced. With the advent of molecular methods and introduction of various gene markers, Borrelia persica DNA was detected in Ornithodoros tholozani ticks by using several gene markers, but the data on transovarial transmission of Borrelia in this tick by these methods is very scarce. Methods: In this study we tried to detect Borrelia in field collected O. tholozani ticks by allowing them to feed on guinea pigs and then to examine the animals’ blood for spirochetes by microscopy. We also used two PCR methods targeting highly repetitive regions of rrs gene to detect Borrelia DNA in adult ticks, larvae, and eggs. Results: All the guinea pig blood samples were negative for spirochetes by microscopy. However, out of the 17 adult ticks, 2 males and 5 females were positive for Borrelia DNA.  None of the larvae was positive, but two batches of eggs yielded the expected 540 bp amplicon by nested PCR. Conclusion: Presence of Borrelia DNA in adult O. tholozani ticks and their eggs is an indication for transovarial transmission of relapsing fever agent in this tick.