| |
Borrelia
(bә-rel´e-ә)
a genus of gram-negative, aerobic, spirochete bacteria that are parasites on mucous membranes and cause borreliosis and other conditions. B. burgdor´feri, transmitted by ticks of the genus Ixodes, is the cause of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, erythema chronicum migrans, and Lyme disease. B. recurren´tis is transmitted by the human body louse Pediculus humanus and causes louse-borne relapsing fever. A number of other species are spread by tick bites and cause tick-borne relapsing fever.

Copyright 2007. An Elsevier publication. All rights reserved.
Click here for important legal information about Dorland's Medical Dictionary.
|