Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in North Eastern India.

BACKGROUND

There is paucity of data on Lyme disease in India. A seroprevalence study of B burgdorferi infection was carried out in North-Eastern states of India to assess the same.

METHODS

Sera from 500 individuals of North-Eastern states of India were tested for IgG antibody by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay using commercial kits containing recombinant antigen.

RESULT: Out of 500 persons, 65 (13%) were positive for B burgdorferi specific lgG Females showed higher positivity rate as compared to males (15.86% vs 10.95%). Higher prevalence rate was observed in the age group of 15-30 years in both sexes (11.48% in male and 18.69% in female). Arunachal Pradesh showed higher seroprevalence rate (17.8%) as compared to other North-Eastern states (8.46-9.6%).

CONCLUSION

Seropositivity to B burgdorferi suggests infection by the organism and presence of Lyme disease in these areas. Further population and vector biology studies are required to find out the exact species involved in transmission of the organism.