Tick-borne relapsing fever polymerase chain reaction of tick-borne relapsing fever caused by Borrelia hermsii.

A patient presented to our hospital with symptoms consistent with relapsing fever. A blood specimen was positive by genus-specific polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing revealed Borrelia hermsii. We propose the polymerase chain reaction as a possible alternative for currently used tests for the diagnosis of tick-borne relapsing fever.