Based on an article by Dr Richard Horowitz
Dr Lynne Bemis and colleagues recently published an article in the journal Microorganisms on maternal Lyme disease and foetal infection. This has been a subject of heated debate over the past few decades. Given the global spread of Lyme disease and its consequences for pregnant women, one would think that there would have been more research in this area by now. But no. Gender inequality and the denial of persistent infection may also contribute to this.
It was time for a case study like this. The authors used modern molecular and microscopic diagnostics and showed that they were able to find intact spirochetes in archived placental tissue and, years later, detect serological evidence of Borrelia in the mother and child. Nevertheless, neither the mother nor the child met the criteria for positive serology in the standard two-step test (ELISA + Western blot).
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/14/2/406
Since syphilis is known to be transmitted from mother to child and Lyme disease is a spirochaetal infection, the connection between the two may seem obvious, but due to 50 years of dysfunctional medical policy surrounding Lyme disease, there has not been sufficient research on the subject. Nevertheless, mothers have a clear interest in knowing the risks. The following article was published in PLoS One about two years ago by Sue Faber and colleagues:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0294265
We know from previous research that LD and the spirochetes associated with it can be transmitted from mother to foetus. This has even been acknowledged by public health authorities, as listed in the above article:
“The potential risk of maternal-foetal transmission of LD is publicly acknowledged by the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC), Health Canada and the National Institutes of Health (NIH, UK). According to a recent review listing 31 studies, 13 (42%) studies showed statistically probable transmission, and an additional 2 (6%) cases showed possible transmission. Adverse effects, including deaths, cardiac abnormalities, and premature births, were lower when mothers were given antimicrobial treatment (74% without antimicrobial treatment, 29% with oral antibiotics, and 12% with intravenous antibiotics).
Dr Horowitz also notes that he published his first similar case with similar evidence back in 2003.
A colleague from the Lyme Borreliosis Foundation has also prepared a detailed summary of the topic in Hungarian based on the literature.
Our joint presentation with Dr Klára Esztó has recently been approved, in which we will report on the multiple, habitual spontaneous miscarriages of 15 mothers to several hundred Lyme doctors. Borrelia + Bartonella infection was identified in all cases, and with two exceptions, all ended with the birth of a healthy child.
I must also add that Borrelia can be detected directly in our country using immunofluorescence microscopy. The image is from the first article.
Only two questions remain: should we finally treat infected expectant mothers, and is infection a possibility in cases of infertility?
Dr Horowitz also lists the literature confirming the link between pregnancy and Lyme disease to date, in 42 items:
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Bemis, L.T.; Golovchenko, M.; Ericson, M.E.; Haque, M.H.; Lloyd, V.; Rudenko, N. Advanced Molecular and Microscopic Diagnostics Suggest Congenital Borrelia Transmission: A Case Report. Microorganisms 2026, 14, 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14020406
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