A suspected case of Lyme disease caused by the bite of a tick carrying borrelia bacteria has been reported from Koovapady in Ernakulam district.
Though Jilse George, senior consultant at Lisie Hospital, who treated the 56-year-old patient, shared a report of the Bengaluru unit of the National Institute of Virology, dated February 9, 2024, stating that the samples tested positive for borrelia IgM indicating the infection, the Health department has not yet confirmed it officially. A senior department official said the Directorate of Health Services was asked to collect further details.
Dr. George said the patient, a farmer with no known comorbidities, was referred to the hospital with high grade fever on December 6, 2023. He also had a history of pain and swelling in the right knee for two weeks. Neck stiffness was present. Local examination revealed superficial ulcers over the scrotum, he said.
Lyme serology was ordered after conducting various other tests, and it was found to be positive. He did not have the classic targetoid erythema migrans (skin lesion) occurring in infected persons. He was treated for nearly four weeks for neurological Lyme disease, with ceftriaxone and doxycycline, said Dr. George. The patient’s health condition has improved, and he remains stable, according to Dr. George. Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.
