HERKIMER COUNTY — A case of Lyme disease caused by Borrelia mayonii was detected last July in an adult resident of Herkimer County, New York. The patient had not recently traveled prior to the diagnosis, and state health department officials found ticks on the individual's wooded property that tested positive for Borrelia mayonii, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
Borrelia mayonii represents a rare species of bacteria known to cause Lyme disease in the U.S., while Borrelia burgdorferi causes almost all other cases. Both species are transmitted by deer ticks. Testing indicated that 0.2 percent of nymphal ticks and 1 percent of adult ticks collected throughout New York carried Borrelia mayonii. In comparison, Borrelia burgdorferi infects approximately 25 percent of nymphal ticks and 50 percent of adult ticks in the Northeast.
Douglas Norris, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, stated that Borrelia mayonii has likely been present in New York tick populations for about two years. He added that it remains restricted to a limited geographic area. A spokesperson for the New York State Health Department noted, "While this finding was unexpected, we do know that a range of ticks and tick-borne disease can change geographically over time." Herkimer County extends from the edge of Utica into the Adirondack Mountains.
Infections from both bacterial species can initially present with fever and headache. However, Borrelia mayonii infections are more likely to cause nausea and vomiting compared to Borrelia burgdorferi infections. Patients infected with Borrelia mayonii may not develop the characteristic bullseye rash, and may instead present with a widespread rash of tiny red spots, Norris said. Bobbi Pritt, a pathologist at the Mayo Clinic, said, "People also have more neurological symptoms." She added, "There could be more broad symptoms that we haven't seen yet."
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic discovered Borrelia mayonii in 2016. In Minnesota, Borrelia mayonii causes approximately two of the nearly 3,000 annual Lyme disease cases reported. A screening of over 1,500 ticks collected across 24 New York counties did not detect the bacteria. Deer ticks must remain attached to a host for 24 to 48 hours to transmit Lyme disease bacteria.