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. 1984 Oct;46(1):220–223. doi: 10.1128/iai.46.1.220-223.1984

Experimental Lyme disease in rabbits: spirochetes found in erythema migrans and blood.

A N Kornblatt, A C Steere, D G Brownstein
PMCID: PMC261456  PMID: 6480108

Abstract

In attempts to produce experimental Lyme disease, 33 rabbits were inoculated with Lyme spirochetes by tick feeding or from tick organ homogenates or cultures. Two rabbits developed erythema chronicum migrans at the site of inoculation, in one instance 2 days after injection of a tick organ homogenate and in the other instance, 17 days after feeding of infected Ixodes dammini ticks. Spirochetes were seen in skin biopsy specimens of the second lesion with Warthin-Starry and immunoperoxidase stains. Spirochetes were also recovered from blood cultures of two additional rabbits 2 weeks post-inoculation. These findings are characteristic of early Lyme disease in humans and give additional support for the spirochetal etiology of Lyme disease.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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