[Use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of tick Borrelia burgdorferi sensulato in screening studies].

Within the last few years, the incidence of Lyme disease has rapidly increased in Europe, with the causative agent of the disease is Borrelia burgdorferi--a spirochete. In Poland, Lyme borreliosis is being identified, mainly, based on the clinical symptoms, epidemiological anamnesis, and serological tests. On the other hand, it is evident from the foreign publications, that in many cases representing different phases of Lyme disease, a reliable and totally accurate identification tool of Borrelia burgdorferi is amplification of bacterial DNA using PCR method. The main goal of the present studies has been implementation of the DNA amplification method into diagnostic procedures of Lyme. Although we dealt with DNA of B. burgdorferi isolated from tics, it would not make a difference because the method of DNA isolation is the same for human samples. The results acquired from the preliminary studies, suggest that amplification of a fragment of fla gene, may be useful in Lyme disease diagnostics. Spirochetes of B. burgdorferi sensu lato were detected in tics Ixodes ricinus using PCR method in both individual animals and tick pools. The latter version of the method seems to be very useful in so called screening studies, because of minimizing the cost and duration of the procedure.