A case of Lyme disease in a Japanese woman

• Main Authors: Seki M, Watanabe Y, Kawabata H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2018-04-01
• Series: Infection and Drug Resistance
• Subjects: Borrelia burgdorferi; Clostridium tetani; tetracycline; facial nerve palsy; erythema migrans
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/a-case-of-lyme-disease-in-a-japanese-woman-peer-reviewed-article-IDR

Masafumi Seki,1 Yuji Watanabe,2 Hiroki Kawabata3 1Division of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital, Sendai City, Miyagi, Japan; 2Laboratory for Clinical Microbiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital, Sendai City, Miyagi, Japan; 3Department of Bacteriology-1, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan Abstract: This report presents the case of a Japanese patient who developed Lyme disease. The patient was a 44-year-old woman who had general fatigue and the inability to open her mouth. She was initially suspected of having mild tetanus with lockjaw; however, she reported a past history of a tick bite while camping in the USA and had erythema migrans 2 months before this visit. Finally, Lyme disease was serologically confirmed. A few cases of Lyme disease are annually reported in Japan; however, this infectious disease should also be suspected. Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi, Clostridium tetani, tetracycline, facial nerve palsy, erythema migrans