Lyme disease and relapsing fever in Mexico: An overview of human and wildlife infections

PLoS One. 2020 Sep 17;15(9):e0238496. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238496. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Lyme borreliosis and Relapsing fever are considered emerging and re-emerging diseases that cause major public health problems in endemic countries. Epidemiology and geographical distribution of these diseases are documented in the US and in Europe, yet in Mexico, studies are scarce and scattered. The aims of this study were (1) to present the first confirmatory evidence of an endemic case of Lyme disease in Mexico and (2) to analyze the epidemiological trend of these both diseases by compiling all the information published on Borrelia in Mexico. Two databases were compiled, one of human cases and another of wild and domestic animals in the country. The analysis included the evaluation of risk factors for the human population, the diversity of Borrelia species and their geographic distribution. Six Borrelia species were reported in a total of 1,347 reports, of which 398 were of humans. Women and children from rural communities were shown to be more susceptible for both Lyme borreliosis and Relapsing fever. The remaining reports were made in diverse mammalian species and ticks. A total of 17 mammalian species and 14 tick species were recorded as hosts for this bacterial genus. It is noteworthy that records of Borrelia were only made in 18 of the 32 states, mainly in northern and central Mexico. These results highlight the importance of performing further studies in areas where animal cases have been reported, yet no human studies have been done, in order to complete the epidemiological panorama for Lyme borreliosis and Relapsing fever. Finally, the search for Borrelia infections in other vertebrates, such as reptiles and amphibians is recommended to gain a more accurate view of Borrelia species and their distribution. The geographical approach presented herein justifies an intense sampling effort to improve epidemiological knowledge of these diseases to aid vector control and prevention programs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Domestic
  • Animals, Wild
  • Borrelia / classification*
  • Borrelia / pathogenicity
  • Data Management
  • Humans
  • Ixodes / microbiology
  • Lyme Disease / epidemiology*
  • Lyme Disease / microbiology
  • Mexico / epidemiology
  • Recurrence
  • Relapsing Fever / epidemiology*
  • Relapsing Fever / microbiology

Grants and funding

Our study received grant from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) with grant number: PAPIIT IN211418. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Pablo Colunga-Salas received a fellowship from CONACyT with number 463798.