The Clinical Characteristics of 12 Cases with Lyme Disease

Abstract

Lyme disease, an infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, has been reported in many countries from America and Europe, however, knowledge about its epidemiology in Turkey is incomplete. In this study, the clinical characteristics of 12 cases with Lyme disease who were diagnosed with the positivity of B. burgdorferi antibodies by western blot method in the laboratory of Ankara Bayindir Medical Center, have been reviewed. Physicians' recognition of early symptoms such as erythema migrans and later findings pertaining to the nervous system, joints, eye, and skin, and general awareness of the role of tick bites may increase the rate of diagnosis and allow earlier treatment of Lyme disease.