Lyme Borreliosis as a Trigger for Autoimmune Disease

Lyme disease (LD), also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a zoonotic disease caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato belonging to the Spirochaetaceae family. Differentiating LD from other systemic disorders that present with musculoskeletal symptoms is challenging, and the presence of antibodies to borrelia in the general population may contribute to misdiagnosis. Moreover, long-term exposure of the host’s immune system to spirochetes can contribute to the development of chronic autoimmune disease de novo. We report a 35-year-old woman with a combination of LD and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and in this case, LD was the most likely trigger for SLE. We also performed a literature review and summarized the previously reported cases with a combination of LD and autoimmune disease.