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This contribution provides an analysis report of the recent proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and fungal genome detection (PCR/NAT)". It summarizes some benchmarks and the overall assessment of results reported by all of the participating laboratories.A highly desired scheme for external quality assessment schemes (EQAS) of molecular diagnostic methods in the field of medical microbiology was activated in 2002 by the German Society of Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) and is now organized by INSTAND e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany. This segment of the INSTAND e.V. proficiency testing program is open for diagnostic laboratories worldwide. The concept of this EQAS scheme, which is in accordance to the German RiLiBÄK, part B3, is based on two validation rounds per year (spring and autumn) and a permanently expanding coverage of relevant bacterial or fungal pathogens.Briefly, next to "simply negative" samples, the corresponding sets of QC specimens may contain some strong-positive samples, samples spiked with clinical variants or species closely related to the target organisms. Further information as well as the statistically documented and discussed results of the past rounds of this proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and fungal genome detection (PCR/NAT)" can be found at the INSTAND e.V. website (https://www.instand-ev.de). Although the preferred language of these documents is German, we aim to provide at least a brief discussion of the results and some key issues in English and keep the tables in a bilingual style., Der vorliegende Beitrag liefert einen Auswertungsbericht der jüngsten Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis PCR/NAT". Er fasst die Zielwerte, einige Bezugsgrößen und die Gesamtbewertung der Ergebnisse aller teilnehmenden Laboratorien zusammen.Diese hochwillkommene Versuchsreihe zur externen Qualitätskontrolle (EQAS; external quality assessment scheme ) von Methoden der molekularen Diagnostik auf dem Gebiet der medizinischen Mikrobiologie wurde 2002 von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM) angestoßen und wird seither von INSTAND e.V., Düsseldorf, organisiert. Dieses Segment der INSTAND e.V.-Ringversuchsserie wird für diagnostische Laboratorien weltweit angeboten. Unser Ringversuchskonzept entspricht der aktuellen Richtlinie der Bundesärztekammer zur Qualitätssicherung laboratoriumsmedizinischer Untersuchungen (RiLiBÄK), Teil B3, und basiert auf zwei Validierungsrunden pro Jahr (im Frühjahr und Herbst) unter einer permanent wachsenden Abdeckung der relevanten bakteriellen und fungalen humanpathogenen Erreger. Die entsprechenden Sets von Quality Control (QC)-Proben können dabei neben negativen Proben auch einige stark-positive Proben, Proben mit klinischen Varianten oder eng mit den Zielorganismen verwandte Spezies oder klinische Isolate enthalten. Weitergehende Informationen sowie die statistisch aufgearbeiteten und dokumentierten Ergebnisse der vergangenen Runden dieser Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis (PCR/NAT)" können auf der Webseite von INSTAND e.V. (https://www.instand-ev.de) eingesehen werden. Obwohl die bevorzugte Sprache dieser Dokumente Deutsch ist, streben wir an, zumindest eine kurze Diskussion der Ergebnisse sowie die wichtigsten wissenschaftlichen Aspekte in Englisch bereitzustellen und die Tabellen zweisprachig zu gestalten.

Rejection (nomen rejiciendum) of the name Borreliella and all new combinations therein is being requested on grounds of risk to human health and patient safety (Principle 1, subprinciple 2 and Rule 56a) and violation to aim for stability of names, to avoid useless creation of names (Principle 1, subprinciple 1 and 3) and that names should not be changed without sufficient reason (Principle 9 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes).

Letter to the editor

Background: Borrelia bavariensis is one of the agents of Lyme Borreliosis (or Lyme disease) in Eurasia. The genome of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species complex, that includes B. bavariensis, is known to be very complex and fragmented making the assembly of whole genomes with next-generation sequencing data a challenge. Results: We present a genome reconstruction for 33 B. bavariensis isolates from Eurasia based on long-read (Pacific Bioscience, for three isolates) and short-read (Illumina) data. We show that the combination of both sequencing techniques allows proper genome reconstruction of all plasmids in most cases but use of a very close reference is necessary when only short-read sequencing data is available. B. bavariensis genomes combine a high degree of genetic conservation with high plasticity: all isolates share the main chromosome and five plasmids, but the repertoire of other plasmids is highly variable. In addition to plasmid losses and gains through horizontal transfer, we also observe several fusions between plasmids. Although European isolates of B. bavariensis have little diversity in genome content, there is some geographic structure to this variation. In contrast, each Asian isolate has a unique plasmid repertoire and we observe no geographically based differences between Japanese and Russian isolates. Comparing the genomes of Asian and European populations of B. bavariensis suggests that some genes which are markedly different between the two populations may be good candidates for adaptation to the tick vector, (Ixodes ricinus in Europe and I. persulcatus in Asia). Conclusions: We present the characterization of genomes of a large sample of B. bavariensis isolates and show that their plasmid content is highly variable. This study opens the way for genomic studies seeking to understand host and vector adaptation as well as human pathogenicity in Eurasian Lyme Borreliosis agents. © 2020 The Author(s).

Birds are hosts for several zoonotic pathogens. Because of their high mobility, especially of longdistance migrants, birds can disperse these pathogens, affecting their distribution and phylogeography. We focused on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, which includes the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, as an example for tick‐borne pathogens, to address the role of birds as propagation hosts of zoonotic agents at a large geographical scale. We collected ticks from passerine birds in 11 European countries. B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence in Ixodes spp. was 37% and increased with latitude. The fieldfare Turdus pilaris and the blackbird T. merula carried ticks with the highest Borrelia prevalence (92 and 58%, respectively), whereas robin Erithacus rubecula ticks were the least infected (3.8%). Borrelia garinii was the most prevalent genospecies (61%), followed by B. valaisiana (24%), B. afzelii (9%), B. turdi (5%) and B. lusitaniae (0.5%). A novel Borrelia genospecies “Candidatus Borrelia aligera” was also detected. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of B. garinii isolates together with the global collection of B. garinii genotypes obtained from the Borrelia MLST public database revealed that: (a) there was little overlap among genotypes from different continents, (b) there was no geographical structuring within Europe, and (c) there was no evident association pattern detectable among B. garinii genotypes from ticks feeding on birds, questing ticks or human isolates. These findings strengthen the hypothesis that the population structure and evolutionary biology of tick‐borne pathogens are shaped by their host associations and the movement patterns of these hosts.

This contribution provides an analysis report of the recent proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and Fungal Genome Detection (PCR/NAT)". It summarizes some benchmarks and the overall assessment of results reported by all of the participating laboratories. A highly desired scheme for external quality assessment schemes (EQAS) of molecular diagnostic methods in the field of medical microbiology was activated in 2002 by the German Society of Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) and is now organized by INSTAND e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany. This segment of the INSTAND e.V. proficiency testing program is open for diagnostic laboratories worldwide. The concept of this EQAS scheme, which is in accordance to the German RiLiBÄK, part B3, is based on two validation rounds per year (spring and autumn) and a permanently expanding coverage of relevant bacterial or fungal pathogens. Briefly, next to "simply negative" samples the corresponding sets of QC specimens may contain some strong-positive samples, samples spiked with clinical variants or species closely related to the target organisms. Further information as well as the statistically documented and discussed results of the past rounds of this proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and Fungal Genome Detection (PCR/NAT)" can be found at the homepage of INSTAND e.V. (https://www.instand-ev.de). Although the preferred language of these documents is German, we are aiming to provide at least a brief discussion of the results and some key issues in English and keep the tables in a bilingual style., Der vorliegende Beitrag liefert einen Auswertungsbericht der jüngsten Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis PCR/NAT". Er fasst die Zielwerte, einige Bezugsgrößen und die Gesamtbewertung der Ergebnisse aller teilnehmenden Laboratorien zusammen.Diese hochwillkommene Versuchsreihe zur externen Qualitätskontrolle (EQAS; external quality assessment scheme ) von Methoden der molekularen Diagnostik auf dem Gebiet der medizinischen Mikrobiologie wurde 2002 von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM) angestoßen und wird seither von Instand e.V., Düsseldorf, organisiert. Dieses Segment der INSTAND e.V.-Ringversuchsserie wird für diagnostische Laboratorien weltweit angeboten. Unser Ringversuchskonzept entspricht der aktuellen Richtlinie der Bundesärztekammer zur Qualitätssicherung laboratoriumsmedizinischer Untersuchungen (RiLiBÄK), Teil B3, und basiert auf zwei Validierungsrunden pro Jahr (im Frühjahr und Herbst) unter einer permanent wachsenden Abdeckung der relevanten bakteriellen und fungalen humanpathogenen Erreger. Die entsprechenden Sets von Quality Control (QC)-Proben können dabei neben negativen Proben auch einige stark-positive Proben, Proben mit klinischen Varianten oder eng mit den Zielorganismen verwandte Spezies oder klinische Isolate enthalten. Weitergehende Informationen sowie die statistisch aufgearbeiteten und dokumentierten Ergebnisse der vergangenen Runden dieser Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis (PCR/NAT)" können auf der Homepage von Instand e.V. (https://www.instand-ev.de) eingesehen werden. Obwohl die bevorzugte Sprache dieser Dokumente deutsch ist, streben wir an, zumindest eine kurze Diskussion der Ergebnisse sowie die wichtigsten wissenschaftlichen Aspekte in Englisch bereitzustellen und die Tabellen zweisprachig zu gestalten.

The genus Borrelia, originally described by Swellengrebel in 1907, contains tick- or louse-transmitted spirochetes belonging to the relapsing fever (RF) group of spirochetes, the Lyme borreliosis (LB) group of spirochetes and spirochetes that form intermittent clades. In 2014 it was proposed that the genus Borrelia should be separated into two genera; Borrelia Swellengrebel 1907 emend. Adeolu and Gupta 2014 containing RF spirochetes and Borreliella Adeolu and Gupta 2014 containing LB group of spirochetes. In this study we conducted an analysis based on a method that is suitable for bacterial genus demarcation, the percentage of conserved proteins (POCP). We included RF group species, LB group species and two species belonging to intermittent clades, Borrelia turcica Güner et al. 2004 and Candidatus Borrelia tachyglossi Loh et al. 2017. These analyses convincingly showed that all groups of spirochetes belong into one genus and we propose to emend, and re-unite all groups in, the genus Borrelia.

Borrelia are tick-borne bacteria that in humans are the aetiological agents of Lyme disease and relapsing fever. Here we present the first genomes of B. turcica and B. tachyglossi, members of a recently described and rapidly expanding Borrelia clade associated with reptile (B. turcica) or echidna (B. tachyglossi) hosts, transmitted by hard ticks, and of unknown pathogenicity. Borrelia tachyglossi and B. turcica genomes are similar to those of relapsing fever Borrelia species, containing a linear ~ 900 kb chromosome, a single long (> 70 kb) linear plasmid, and numerous short (< 40 kb) linear and circular plasmids, as well as a suite of housekeeping and macronutrient biosynthesis genes which are not found in Lyme disease Borrelia. Additionally, both B. tachyglossi and B. turcica contain paralogous vsp and vlp proteins homologous to those used in the multiphasic antigen-switching system used by relapsing fever Borrelia to evade vertebrate immune responses, although their number was greatly reduced compared to human-infectious species. However, B. tachyglossi and B. turcica chromosomes also contain numerous genes orthologous to Lyme disease Borrelia-specific genes, demonstrating a unique evolutionary, and potentially phenotypic link between these groups. Borrelia tachyglossi and B. turcica genomes also have unique genetic features, including degraded and deleted tRNA modification genes, and an expanded range of macronutrient salvage and biosynthesis genes compared to relapsing fever and Lyme disease Borrelia. These genomes and genomic comparisons provide an insight into the biology and evolutionary origin of these Borrelia, and provide a valuable resource for future work.

This contribution provides an analysis report of the recent proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and Fungal Genome Detection (PCR/NAT)". It summarizes some benchmarks and the overall assessment of results reported by all of the participating laboratories. A highly desired scheme for external quality assessment (EQAS) of molecular diagnostic methods in the field of medical microbiology was activated in 2002 by the German Society of Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) and is now organized by INSTAND e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany. This segment of the INSTAND e.V. proficiency testing program is open for diagnostic laboratories worldwide. The concept of this EQAS scheme, which is in accordance to the German RiLiBÄK, part B3, is based on two validation rounds per year (spring and autumn) and a permanently expanding coverage of relevant bacterial or fungal pathogens. Briefly, next to "simply negative" samples the corresponding sets of QC specimens may contain some strong-positive samples, samples spiked with clinical variants or species closely related to the target organisms. Further information as well as the statistically documented and discussed results of the past rounds of this proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and Fungal Genome Detection (PCR/NAT)" can be found at the homepage of INSTAND e.V. (https://www.instand-ev.de/en.html). Although the preferred language of these documents is German, we are aiming to provide at least a brief discussion of the results and some key issues in English and keep the tables in a bilingual style., Der vorliegende Beitrag liefert einen Auswertungsbericht der jüngsten Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis PCR/NAT". Er fasst die Zielwerte, einige Bezugsgrößen und die Gesamtbewertung der Ergebnisse aller teilnehmenden Laboratorien zusammen.Diese hochwillkommene Versuchsreihe zur externen Qualitätskontrolle (EQAS; external quality assessment scheme ) von Methoden der molekularen Diagnostik auf dem Gebiet der medizinischen Mikrobiologie wurde 2002 von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM) angestoßen und wird seither von INSTAND e.V., Düsseldorf, organisiert. Dieses Segment der INSTAND e.V.-Ringversuchsserie wird für diagnostische Laboratorien weltweit angeboten. Unser Ringversuchskonzept entspricht der aktuellen Richtlinie der Bundesärztekammer zur Qualitätssicherung laboratoriumsmedizinischer Untersuchungen (RiLiBÄK), Teil B3, und basiert auf zwei Validierungsrunden pro Jahr (im Frühjahr und Herbst) unter einer permanent wachsenden Abdeckung der relevanten bakteriellen und fungalen humanpathogenen Erreger. Die entsprechenden Sets von Quality Control (QC)-Proben können dabei neben negativen Proben auch einige stark-positive Proben, Proben mit klinischen Varianten oder eng mit den Zielorganismen verwandte Spezies oder klinische Isolate enthalten. Weitergehende Informationen sowie die statistisch aufgearbeiteten und dokumentierten Ergebnisse der vergangenen Runden dieser Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis (PCR/NAT)" können auf der Homepage von INSTAND e.V. (http://www.instand-ev.de) eingesehen werden. Obwohl die bevorzugte Sprache dieser Dokumente deutsch ist, streben wir an, zumindest eine kurze Diskussion der Ergebnisse sowie die wichtigsten wissenschaftlichen Aspekte in Englisch bereitzustellen und die Tabellen zweisprachig zu gestalten.

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Background: Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a tick-borne infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The most frequent clinical manifestations are erythema migrans and Lyme neuroborreliosis. Currently, a large volume of diagnostic testing for LB is reported, whereas the incidence of clinically relevant disease manifestations is low. This indicates overuse of diagnostic testing for LB with implications for patient care and cost-effective health management. Aim: The recommendations provided in this review are intended to support both the clinical diagnosis and initiatives for a more rational use of laboratory testing in patients with clinically suspected LB. Sources: This is a narrative review combining various aspects of the clinical and laboratory diagnosis with an educational purpose. The literature search was based on existing systematic reviews, national and international guidelines and supplemented with specific citations. Implications: The main recommendations according to current European case definitions for LB are as follows. Typical erythema migrans should be diagnosed clinically and does not require laboratory testing. The diagnosis of Lyme neuroborreliosis requires laboratory investigation of the spinal fluid including intrathecal antibody production, and the remaining disease manifestations require testing for serum antibodies to B. burgdorferi. Testing individuals with non-specific subjective symptoms is not recommended, because of a low positive predictive value. (C) 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved., Funding Agencies|EU INTERREG OKS

This contribution provides an analysis report of the recent proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and Fungal Genome Detection (PCR/NAT)". It summarizes some benchmarks and the overall assessment of results reported by all of the participating laboratories. A highly desired scheme for external quality assessment (EQAS) of molecular diagnostic methods in the field of medical microbiology was activated in 2002 by the German Society of Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) and is now organized by INSTAND e.V., Düsseldorf, Germany. This segment of the INSTAND e.V. proficiency testing program is open for diagnostic laboratories worldwide. The concept of this EQAS scheme, which is in accordance to the German RiLiBÄK, part B3, is based on two validation rounds per year (spring and autumn) and a permanently expanding coverage of relevant bacterial or fungal pathogens. Briefly, next to "simply negative" samples the corresponding sets of QC specimens may contain some strong-positive samples, samples spiked with clinical variants or species closely related to the target organisms. Further information as well as the statistically documented and discussed results of the past rounds of this proficiency testing scheme "Bacterial and Fungal Genome Detection (PCR/NAT)" can be found at the homepage of INSTAND e.V. (http://www.instand-ev.de). Although the preferred language of these documents is German, we are aiming to provide at least a brief discussion of the results and some key issues in English and keep the tables in a bilingual style., Der vorliegende Beitrag liefert einen Auswertungsbericht der jüngsten Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis PCR/NAT". Er fasst die Zielwerte, einige Bezugsgrößen und die Gesamtbewertung der Ergebnisse aller teilnehmenden Laboratorien zusammen.Diese hochwillkommene Versuchsreihe zur externen Qualitätskontrolle (EQAS; external quality assessment scheme ) von Methoden der molekularen Diagnostik auf dem Gebiet der medizinischen Mikrobiologie wurde 2002 von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM) angestoßen und wird seither von Instand e.V., Düsseldorf, organisiert. Dieses Segment der INSTAND e.V.-Ringversuchsserie wird für diagnostische Laboratorien weltweit angeboten. Unser Ringversuchskonzept entspricht der aktuellen Richtlinie der Bundesärztekammer zur Qualitätssicherung laboratoriumsmedizinischer Untersuchungen (RiLiBÄK), Teil B3, und basiert auf zwei Validierungsrunden pro Jahr (im Frühjahr und Herbst) unter einer permanent wachsenden Abdeckung der relevanten bakteriellen und fungalen humanpathogenen Erreger. Die entsprechenden Sets von Quality Control (QC)-Proben können dabei neben negativen Proben auch einige stark-positive Proben, Proben mit klinischen Varianten oder eng mit den Zielorganismen verwandte Spezies oder klinische Isolate enthalten. Weitergehende Informationen sowie die statistisch aufgearbeiteten und dokumentierten Ergebnisse der vergangenen Runden dieser Ringversuchsserie "Bakterien- und Pilzgenom-Nachweis (PCR/NAT)" können auf der Homepage von Instand e.V. (http://www.instand-ev.de) eingesehen werden. Obwohl die bevorzugte Sprache dieser Dokumente deutsch ist, streben wir an, zumindest eine kurze Diskussion der Ergebnisse sowie die wichtigsten wissenschaftlichen Aspekte in Englisch bereitzustellen und die Tabellen zweisprachig zu gestalten.

This guideline of the German Dermatology Society primarily focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous manifestations of Lyme borreliosis. It has received consensus from 22 German medical societies and 2 German patient organisations. It is the first part of an AWMF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften e.V.) interdisciplinary guideline: "Lyme Borreliosis - Diagnosis and Treatment, development stage S3". The guideline is directed at physicians in private practices and clinics who treat Lyme borreliosis. Objectives of this guideline are recommendations for confirming a clinical diagnosis, recommendations for a stage-related laboratory diagnosis (serological detection of IgM and IgG Borrelia antibodies using the 2-tiered ELISA/immunoblot process, sensible use of molecular diagnostic and culture procedures) and recommendations for the treatment of the localised, early-stage infection (erythema migrans, erythema chronicum migrans, and borrelial lymphocytoma), the disseminated early-stage infection (multiple erythemata migrantia, flu-like symptoms) and treatment of the late-stage infection (acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans with and without neurological manifestations). In addition, an information sheet for patients containing recommendations for the prevention of Lyme borreliosis is attached to the guideline., Diese Leitlinie der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft bezieht sich primär auf die Diagnostik und Therapie von kutanen Manifestationen der Lyme-Borreliose. Sie ist Teil 1 der geplanten interdisziplinären AWMF Gesamtleitlinie "Lyme-Borreliose - Diagnostik und Therapie Entwicklungsstufe S3".Sie wurde interdisziplinär von 22 deutschen Fachgesellschaften und 2 deutschen Patientenorganisationen konsentiert und richtet sich an Ärzte in Praxis und Klinik, die mit der Behandlung der Lyme-Borreliose befasst sind.Ziel der Leitlinie ist es, Empfehlungen zur Absicherung der klinischen Diagnosen, Empfehlungen zur stadiengerechten Labordiagnostik (serologischer Nachweis von IgM- und IgG-Borrelienantikörpern mit dem 2-Stufenverfahren ELISA/Immunoblot sowie der sinnvolle Einsatz molekulardiagnostischer und kultureller Verfahren) und Empfehlungen zur Therapie der lokalisierten Frühmanifestationen (Erythema migrans, Erythema chronicum migrans und Borrelienlymphozytom), zur Therapie der disseminierten Frühmanifestationen (Multiple Erythemata migrantia und/oder grippeartige Symptomatik nach Zeckenstich) und zur Therapie der Spätmanifestationen (Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans mit und ohne neurologische Manifestationen) zu geben. Außerdem werden Empfehlungen für Patienten zur Prävention der Lyme-Borreliose und zur Nachbeobachtung eines Zeckenstiches formuliert.

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