Lyme Disease in Canada

Bacterial pathogens causing systemic infections disseminate from the initial infection focus to the target organs usually through the blood vasculature. To be able to colonize various organs, bacteria need to adhere to the endothelial cells of the vascular wall, and the adhesion must be strong enough to resist the shear force of the blood flow.Borrelia burgdorferisensu lato spirochetes, the causative agents of the tick-borne disease Lyme borreliosis, disseminate hematogenously from the tick bite site to the joints, the heart, and the central nervous system of the patient. Borrelia garinii, a member of the B. burgdorferi s. l. complex, adhered to biglycan expressed by human endothelial cells in a flow-tolerant manner.