Frequency of Positive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Testing for <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> on Whole Blood Samples That Tested Positive for <i>Babesia microti</i> by PCR from an Endemic Area for Both Infections in New York State

Abstract

Because both Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi can be transmitted by the bite of a single coinfected Ixodes scapularis tick, an attempt was made to determine the frequency with which whole blood samples that tested positive for B. microti infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) would also test positive by PCR for B. burgdorferi infection. Over a 7-year period from 2013 to 2019, 119 different patients tested positive for B. microti infection by PCR on at least one blood sample. Among the 118 patients with a positive B. microti PCR blood sample that could also be tested by a qualitative PCR for B. burgdorferi, only one patient tested positive (0.85%, 95% CI 0.02 to 4.6%). Routine PCR testing of every B. microti PCR-positive blood specimen to detect B. burgdorferi coinfection appears to have a low yield, even in a highly endemic geographic area for both of these infections.

Keywords

• Lyme disease
• <i>Babesia microti</i>
• tick-borne diseases
• babesiosis
• coinfection
• polymerase chain reaction