MicrobeWorld

The agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) has been shown to have the ability to hide and demonstrate resistance from harsh environmental conditions to antibiotics used to treat the infection, thanks to the formation of a biofilm, according to a University of New Haven news release Oct. 24.

The research, Characterization of Biofilm Formation by Borrelia burgdorferi In Vitro, was published in the online journal, PloS One on Wednesday.

The research team, led by associate professor of biology and environmental science at the University of New Haven, Dr. Eva Sapi, investigated the hypothesis that aggregate formations produced by Bb, which gave the organism its resistance, were indeed biofilms.