Relapsing fever borreliae were notorious and feared infectious agents that earned their place in history through their devastating impact as causes of both epidemic and endemic infection. They are now considered more as an oddity, and their burden of infection is largely overshadowed by other infections such as malaria, which presents in a similar clinical way. Despite this, they remain the mos...

To determine whether relapsing fever-like spirochetes associated with hard ticks may infect Ixodes ricinus ticks in central Europe, we screened questing ticks for 16S rDNA similar to that of Asian and American relapsing fever-like spirochetes. We compared the prevalence of these spirochetes to that of Lyme disease spirochetes transmitted by the same vector. Relapsing fever-like spirochetes infe...

1. Cutler SJ. Possibilities for relapsing fever reemergence. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:369–74. http://dx.doi. org/10.3201/eid1203.050899 2. Bottieau E, Clerinx J, Schrooten W, Van den Enden E, Wouters R, Van Esbroeck M, et al. Etiology and outcome of fever after a stay in the tropics. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1642–8. http://dx.doi. org/10.1001/archinte.166.15.1642 3. Vial L, Diatta G, Tall A, ...

Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 11, No. 11, November 2005 1803 Physicians should be alert for relapsing fever in travelers, and this diagnosis should be considered in febrile patients from disease-endemic regions. Diagnosis relies upon examination of stained blood smears. Where available, molecular methods are highly efficient to detect and identify bacterial species. Othe...