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Serological Analysis Indicating the Exposure of Two Volunteers to Relapsing Fever Borrelia sp. in Nayarit, Mexico

Sofía L. Luna-Rojas Laboratorio de Genética Microbiana, Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico;

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Edwin Vázquez-Guerrero Laboratorio de Genética Microbiana, Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico;

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Jose A. Hernández-Martínez Laboratorio de Genética Microbiana, Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico;

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Jeanet Serafín-López Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico;

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Fernando Martínez-Hernández Department of Ecology of Pathogens, General Hospital “Dr. Manuel Gea González”, Mexico City, Mexico;

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José Alejandro Martinez-Ibarra Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Departamento de Ciencias de la Naturaleza, Centro Universitario del Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico;

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Rigoberto Hernández-Castro Department of Ecology of Pathogens, General Hospital “Dr. Manuel Gea González”, Mexico City, Mexico;

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Job E. López Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

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J. Antonio Ibarra Laboratorio de Genética Microbiana, Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico;

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0636
Volume/Issue:
Ahead of Print
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Relapsing fever caused by Borrelia sp. is a neglected disease in Mexico and more studies are needed to update its presence in multiple regions of the country. Here, recombinant proteins glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (GlpQ) and three Borrelia immunogenic protein A (BipA) variants were used for serosurveillance in 142 human serum samples. Results showed that two persons were positive to Borrelia extracts and GlpQ but negative to all three BipA, suggesting they were infected by relapsing fever spirochetes of a yet to be determined species. This shows that testing for GlpQ and Borrelia extracts are a useful tool for potential infections and grants their use in other regions and studies in Mexico.

Author Notes

Financial support: This project was supported by a grant by SIP-Innovación 20232722, SIP-Innovación 20241496, 20250266, 20252924, and SIP-20240122. S. L. Luna-Rojas is supported by a scholarship for graduate studies by CONAHCYT (number 821834). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Disclosure: The clinical protocol was approved by the Research Ethics committee of Universidad de Guadalajara (SEP-UDG-CA-621-2015). Verbal and written informed consents were obtained from all 142 volunteers to analyze the serum sample, as well as for the publication of the results.

Current contact information: Sofía L. Luna-Rojas, Edwin Vázquez-Guerrero, José Alberto Hernández-Martínez, Jeanet Serafín-López, and José Antonio Ibarra, Departamento de Microbiologia, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biologicas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico, E-mails: lunarojas.sofia@gmail.com, edwin.vazquez.guerrero@hotmail.com, jhernandezm1918@alumno.ipn.mx, jeaserafin@hotmail.com, and jaig19@gmail.com. Fernando Martínez-Hernández and Rigoberto Hernández-Castro, Department of Ecology of Pathogens, General Hospital “Dr. Manuel Gea González”, Mexico City, Mexico, E-mails: fherxyz@yahoo.com and rigo37@gmail.com. José Alejandro Martinez-Ibarra, Laboratorio de Entomología Médica, Departamento de Ciencias de la Naturaleza, Centro Universitario del Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico, E-mail: aibarra@cusur.udg.mx. Job E. López, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, E-mail: job.Lopez@bmc.edu.

Address correspondence to José Antonio Ibarra, Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prol. de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Col. Casco de Santo Tomás Alc, Miguel HidalgoCP 11340, Ciudad de México, México. E-mails: jaig19@gmail.com or jibarrag@ipn.mx
Copyright:
© American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2025
Received:
20 Sep 2024
|
Accepted:
27 Jan 2025
|
Published Online:
22 Apr 2025
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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