One could finally be available within the next few years preventive vaccine against Lyme borreliosis, a tick-borne infection caused by the bacterium called the Borrelia spirochete. To confirm this encouraging hypothesis a new study conducted by scientists of Blekinge University of Technology. The research team, led by Johan Sanmartin Berglund, has started the first trial of a preventive drug developed to protect the human body from Lyme disease. First identified in 1976, the Lyme disease owes its name to the homonymous American city where the first epidemic recognized for this disease. The number of Lyme disease cases reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more than doubled in the past 20 years and now exceeds 450 thousand episodes every year. Currently, experts report, Lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, but it is also present in Europe, China and Japan.
The infection, of bacterial origin, mainly affects the skin, joints, nervous system and internal organs. The disease can manifest itself with severe, persistent symptoms and, if left untreated, takes on a chronic course. This condition develops when the body comes into contact with one of the four bacteria of the genus Borrelia responsible for the disease, the spread of which seems specific according to the areas of the world where cases occur. From an epidemiological point of view, we read on the website of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, according to the data collected by the Ministry of Health between 1992 and 1998 in Italy there would have been about a thousand cases of Lyme borreliosis. The Regions most affected are the Friuli Venezia Giuliathe Liguriail Venetol’Emilia Romagna and Trentino-Alto Adige, while in the central-southern regions and on the islands the reports are rather sporadic.
The first symptoms of the disease are intermittent and changeable, but over the course of a few weeks they can manifest themselves neurological disorders, myalgias, meningitis, polyneuritis, cutaneous lymphocytomas, myocarditis and atrioventricular conduction disordersAnd. Months or years after infection, the patient may experience alterations of the musculoskeletal system, central and peripheral nervous system, skin and cardiovascular system. Laboratory tests are not always able to definitively confirm or exclude the disease, which also does not lead to the development of immunity. The infection can therefore recur several times in a lifetime, which is why, the scientists point out, the possibility of a vaccine represents an important option for public health. Victoria Cabello, Italian television presenter and actress with British citizenship, also contracted the disease, known for various roles in some fiction and feature films such as “Heart against heart” and “The cosmos on the dresser”. The disease went undiagnosed for over a year.
Swedish researchers have recruited more than 15,000 people to test the new Lyme disease drug. Started more than a year ago, the trial is showing encouraging results. The participants, who are now to receive the third dose of the vaccine, reported no significant side effects or discomfort associated with the immunization. “Developing a targeted approach to Lyme disease prevention,” he says Sanmartin Berglund – it is very complicated, because the bacteria responsible for the pathology exist in different variants. In preliminary work, to overcome these difficulties, we have mapped the forms of the disease found in Europe and the strains that can be covered by vaccination”.
The ultimate goal of the research group is to create an effective vaccine in every part of the world. The Blekinge region of Sweden was selected as the test area due to the high incidence of Lyme disease with which the area is associated. “It will still take a few years before our vaccine can be approved and made available to the European population – says Sanmartin Berglund – but we are very confident of the preliminary results. We hope that the distribution of the vaccine can take place in 2026”. “We follow the work of our Swedish colleagues very closely – he comments Federico Gobbi, director of the Infectious and Tropical Diseases department of the IRCCS Sacro Cuore of Negrar (Verona) – because Lyme disease is also present in Italy, and is especially endemic in the northern regions. Unlike other diseases carried by ticks, such as Tick Borne Encephalitis (Tbe), the weapons available against Lyme disease only require a prompt diagnosis and antibiotic therapy. A new vaccine could therefore play a fundamental role in the fight against the disease, with important implications especially for people most exposed to tick bites”.
The press release
Photo by Marino Linic on Unsplash
Valentina DiPaola