How should viability of Borrelia burgdorferi be demonstrated?
Nadelman, R.B.; Nowakowski, J.; Wormser, G.P.; Schwartz, I.
American Journal of Medicine 106(4): 491-492
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9343 PMID: 10225260 Document Number: 508335
Remarks are made regarding methods used to determine the presence and viability of B. burgdorferi in infected tissues [Frey, M. American Journal of Medicine, 104: 591-594 (1998)]. Since B. burgdorferi was not isolated and cultured it remains unclear whether the pathogen detected by PCR of DNA is viable. In reply, J. Sibilia and B. Jaulhac agree with those comments made but stress the difficulties in culturing B. burgdorferi and that the methods used were sufficient to show that spirochaetes had disseminated in human muscle samples.