Shutikova AL, Leonova GN, Popov AF, Shchelkanov MY. Clinical and diagnostic manifestations of tickborne mixed infection in combination with COVID-19. Klin Lab Diagn. 2021 Nov 29;66(11):689-694. English. doi: 10.51620/0869-2084-2021-66-11-689-694. PMID: 34882355.
- The study investigated the coexistence of pathogens in a patient, focusing on the relationship between laboratory diagnostics and clinical manifestations during SARS-CoV-2 infection in a case of chronic encephalitis-borreliosis.
- Blood samples collected over a year revealed Lyme disease diagnosed through IgG antibodies to Borrelia, with joint pain and erythema migrans. Subsequently, the patient contracted SARS-CoV-2 during a Lyme disease exacerbation.
- Treatment improved the underlying disease but led to TBEV activation, possibly due to immune system focus on SARS-CoV-2. Despite TBEV activation, clinical manifestations were absent, suggesting weak virulence. Etiotropic treatment suppressing borreliosis led to TBEV activation, highlighting the dominance of B. burgdorferi in tick-borne infections.