Researchers have identified Borrelia mayonii as the second species of bacteria capable of transmitting Lyme disease to humans in North America, according to findings published in Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Prior to finding B. mayonii, it was thought that Borrelia burgdorferi was the lone bacterial culprit responsible for transmitting the tick-borne illness to humans.
"This discovery adds another important piece of information to the complex picture of tick-borne diseases in the United States," Jeannine Petersen, PhD, a CDC microbiologist and researcher involved in the study, said in a statement.
Researchers studied blood samples from 9,000 Midwest residents suspected of having Lyme disease and found just six of the samples contained bacteria genetically distinct from B. burgdorferi. Although B. mayonii was only been identified in six patients, researchers believe the effects of the illness it causes to be similar to that of B. burgdorferi, with the addition of symptoms not currently associated with Lyme disease, including nausea, vomiting and diffuse rashes.
So far, evidence of the new strain is limited to the upper Midwestern U.S., according to the authors.