Evidence for strain-specific immunity in patients treated for early Lyme disease

Evidence for strain-specific immunity in patients treated for early Lyme disease
Camilo E. Khatchikian, Ph.D., Robert B. Nadelman, M.D., John Nowakowski, M.D., Ira Schwartz, Ph.D., Gary P. Wormser, M.D. and Dustin Brisson, Ph.D.
Infection and Immunity, online before print, January 13, 2014.

http://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.01451-13

Abstract

Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States. Many patients treated for early Lyme disease incur another infection in subsequent years, suggesting previous exposure to B. burgdorferi may not elicit a protective immune response.

However, identical strains are almost never detected from patients who are infected multiple times, suggesting that B. burgdorferi exposure may elicit strain specific immunity. Probabilistic and simulation models assuming biologically-realistic data derived from patients in the Northeastern US suggest that patients treated for early Lyme disease develop protective immunity that is strain specific and lasts for at least six years.


http://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.01451-13

Here's a response from a Lyme researcher:

Letter to the editor Infection and Immunity
Evidence for strain-specific immunity in patients treated for early Lyme disease
http://iai.asm.org/content/early/2014/01/07/IAI.01451-13
American Society for Microbiology
1752 N Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-2904
Infection and Immunity
Attn: Jessica Kanotz, Production Editor

Dear Jessica Kantoz,

In reference to the abstract published in Infection and Immunity regarding “strain-specific immunity to Lyme disease” I would like to call attention to another study in this area from the Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California-Davis:

The immune system cannot generate immunological memory during infection with the Lyme disease agent B. burgdorferi
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043466613003542

R.A. Elsner, S.W. Barthold, N. Baumgarth  September 2013

Conclusion statement:

“…our data demonstrate that Bb infection suppresses the development of long-lived antibody production and immunological memory formation and indicates that Bb may achieve this by suppressing the function and/or causing the rapid and global collapse of germinal centers.”


In contrast, the Wormser study published in the Jan 2014 issue of Infection and Immunity is claiming the following: 

“…patients treated for early Lyme disease develop protective immunity that is strain specific and lasts for at least six years”


We are finding it difficult to understand how the authors of this study could reach the conclusion that protective immunity could develop lasting six years unless of course there is an agenda driven bias here. Dr Gary Wormser is actively involved with the current Baxter Lyme vaccine trials. A vaccine with questionable effectiveness against a disease with no immunological memory might not gain acceptance in the medical/patient community. If you can fabricate a protective immune response what might that do for vaccine sales?
The missing conflict of interest statement in this study is a serious oversight in the American Society for Microbiology’s Code of Ethics and should be corrected.

The following link will take you to The Clinical Infectious Disease paper: “The Need for a New Lyme Vaccine” Guest Editors: Stanley Plotkin and Gary Wormser

http://home.comcast.net/~runagain/Gary%20Wowmser%20link%20to%20Baxter%20Vaccine.pdf

Sincerely,

Carl Tuttle
33 David Dr
Hudson, NH 03051

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