Mother-to-fetus Lyme disease transmission possible: CDC

The federal U.S. public health agency has set an example for Canada to follow by acknowledging that Lyme disease could be passed from mother to fetus with serious consequences, says a Mount Allison University expert. “The first step is acknowledging that the transmission happens,” said Vett Lloyd, a biologist and founding member of the university’s Lyme Disease Network. “The next step is getting enough information that physicians, family doctors, and families have the information they need to manage the risk.” Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention website was updated Jan. 27 to include mother to fetus as a possible way of transmitting the disease. It’s a game-changer, said Lloyd. The world’s leading public health body has acknowledged decades of research showing that B. burgdorferi, the pathogen causing Lyme disease, can be transmitted in utero, and not just from tick to human. Lloyd pointed to a comprehensive review of the available research published in November 2018. A CDC scientist and four others from the Public Health Agency of Canada authored the report that appeared in the peer-reviewed science journal PLOS One. It looked at 59 cases of pregnant mothers carrying Lyme disease and their pregnancy outcomes, finding 36 of the 59 fetuses had been harmed. Complications ranged from miscarriage and stillbirth to congenital abnormalities, respiratory distress and heart abnormalities. While the CDC acknowledged human-to-human transmission, it states that with appropriate antibiotic treatment, there is “no increased risk of adverse birth outcomes.” The American public health agency also points to the absence of published studies “assessing developmental outcomes of children whose mothers acquired Lyme disease during pregnancy.” That points to the urgency for more research, said Lloyd. Establishing that a mother can pass Lyme on to her baby is just the tip of the iceberg. Getting a handle of how often in utero transmission happens is a good starting point, she said. The province currently follows the same Lyme Disease guidelines as PHAC, which states there is not enough evidence to confirm that Lyme disease during pregnancy has adverse effects for the fetus.