Emerging Infectious Diseases (May 2011)

Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Borreliosis, Rural Senegal

  • Philippe Parola,
  • Georges Diatta,
  • Cristina Socolovschi,
  • Oleg Mediannikov,
  • Adama Tall,
  • Hubert Bassene,
  • Jean François Trape,
  • Didier Raoult

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1705.100573
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 5
pp. 883 – 885

Abstract

Read online

Detecting spirochetes remains challenging in cases of African tick-borne relapsing fever. Using real-time PCR specific for the 16S rRNA Borrelia gene, we found 27 (13%) of 206 samples from febrile patients in rural Senegal to be positive, whereas thick blood smear examinations conducted at dispensaries identified only 4 (2%) as positive.

Keywords