In relapsing fever (thesaurus synonyms: Lyme disease [tropical relapsing fever] due to tick bite; Carter relapsing fever; Dutton relapsing fever; European lice relapsing fever; European relapsing fever; Febris recurrens; Infection by Borrelia duttoni; Borrelia recurrentis infection; Spirochaeta duttoni infection; Spirochaeta obermeieri infection; Spirochaeta recurrens infection; Lice relapsing fever; Middle African tick fever a. n.k. ; Novy relapsing fever; Novy relapsing fever transmitted by lice; Novy relapsing fever transmitted by ticks; Obermeier relapsing fever; Recurrent fever; Relapsing fever caused by Borrelia recurrentis; Relapsing fever caused by Spirochaeta Duttoni; Typhus recurrens; West African relapsing fever; Tick relapsing fever; Central African tick fever a. n.k. ; ICD-10 A68.-) is an infectious disease caused by pathogens of the genus Borrelia. The following species can be distinguished:
- Borrelia recurrentis * (bacterium of the genus Borrelia) – causative agent of European relapsing fever, epidemic relapsing fever (lice relapsing fever; A68.0).
- Borrelia duttonii, Borrelia hispanica, Borrelia latyschewii, Borrelia persica, Borrelia mazottii, etc. – causative agent of tick-borne relapsing fever (A68.1) or endemic relapsing fever.
* Borrelia recurrentis, like all spirochetes, is a highly motile, helical or spiral-shaped bacterium. The disease belongs to the bacterial zoonoses (animal diseases). Humans are currently the only relevant pathogen reservoir of Borrelia recurrentis and Borrelia duttonii. The pathogen reservoir of the other species are rodents and ticks. According to geographic occurrence, one can distinguish between:
- Lice relapsing fever (European relapsing fever).
- Endemic occurrence in northern, central, and eastern Africa (esp. Somalia, Eritrea, or Ethiopia), Asia, and South America.
- Is transmitted by the clothes louse (Peduculus humanus corporis). The transmission of the pathogen (infection route) occurs when the lice are crushed or squashed. In the process, the pathogen-containing secretion gets on the skin and is rubbed in when scratching after the bite.
- Occurs under poor hygienic conditions (poor housing, clothing and personal hygiene).
- Tick-borne relapsing fever (endemic relapsing fever).
- Endemic occurrence worldwide: natural foci exist in central, eastern, and southern Africa (Borrelia duttonii), Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia (B. hispanica), Iran and central Asia (B. latyschewii), China, India, central Asia, Egypt, CIS (B. persica), southern United States, Mexico, central and South America (B. mazottii)
- Is transmitted by soft ticks (genus Ornithodorus).
In Germany, the disease is rare, mostly imported diseases. Human-to-human transmission: Yes, but occurs only rarely. The incubation period (time from infection to the outbreak of the disease) is usually 5-15 days. The disease leaves a pathogen-specific immunity, which is, however, limited in time. Course and prognosis: In terms of clinical symptoms, louse fever and tick-borne relapsing fever are indistinguishable. However, the course of tick relapsing fever is more severe and prolonged. Relapsing fever, as the name suggests, is characterized by recurrent (recurring) attacks of fever. In between are fever-free intervals. Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) can occur as a complication. The lethality (mortality in relation to the total number of people suffering from the disease) of the untreated infection is 2 to 10%. Adequate therapy (antibiotic administration) can reduce the lethality to less than 5 %. In Germany, the direct or indirect detection of Borrellia recurrentis in connection with an acute infection is subject to notification by name according to the Infection Protection Act (IfSG).
