| { |
| "schema_version": "1.0", |
| "level": "genus", |
| "genus": "Borrelia", |
|
|
| "overview": { |
| "short": "Borrelia species are Gram-negative–like, microaerophilic spirochetes transmitted primarily by arthropod vectors.", |
| "clinical_context": "Includes agents of Lyme disease and relapsing fever, characterised by systemic dissemination and immune evasion." |
| }, |
|
|
| "expected_fields": { |
| "Gram Stain": "Negative", |
| "Shape": "Spiral", |
| "Motility": "Positive", |
| "Capsule": "Negative", |
| "Spore Formation": "Negative", |
| "Haemolysis": "Negative", |
| "Haemolysis Type": "None", |
| "Media Grown On": [ |
| "Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly Agar" |
| ], |
| "Colony Morphology": [ |
| "Not visible on routine media" |
| ], |
| "Oxygen Requirement": "Microaerophilic", |
| "Growth Temperature": "30//34", |
| "Catalase": "Negative", |
| "Oxidase": "Negative", |
| "Indole": "Negative", |
| "Urease": "Negative", |
| "Citrate": "Negative", |
| "Methyl Red": "Negative", |
| "VP": "Negative", |
| "H2S": "Negative", |
| "DNase": "Negative", |
| "ONPG": "Negative", |
| "Coagulase": "Negative", |
| "Gelatin Hydrolysis": "Negative", |
| "Esculin Hydrolysis": "Negative", |
| "Nitrate Reduction": "Negative", |
| "NaCl Tolerant (>=6%)": "Negative", |
| "Lipase Test": "Negative", |
| "Lysine Decarboxylase": "Negative", |
| "Ornithine Decarboxylase": "Negative", |
| "Ornitihine Decarboxylase": "Negative", |
| "Arginine dihydrolase": "Negative", |
| "Glucose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Lactose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Sucrose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Maltose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Mannitol Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Sorbitol Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Xylose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Rhamnose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Arabinose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Raffinose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Trehalose Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Inositol Fermentation": "Negative", |
| "Gas Production": "Negative", |
| "TSI Pattern": "Unknown", |
| "Colony Pattern": "Unknown", |
| "Pigment": "None", |
| "Motility Type": "Axial Filaments" |
| }, |
|
|
| "field_notes": { |
| "Gram Stain": "Poorly visualised with Gram stain; silver stains or dark-field microscopy are preferred.", |
| "Media Grown On": "Requires specialised enriched media; not recoverable on routine laboratory agar.", |
| "Motility": "Characteristic corkscrew motility due to periplasmic flagella." |
| }, |
|
|
| "key_differentiators": [ |
| { |
| "field": "Shape", |
| "expected": "Spiral", |
| "distinguishes_from": ["Treponema", "Leptospira"], |
| "notes": "Spirochetal morphology with loose coils differentiates Borrelia from other spirochetes." |
| }, |
| { |
| "field": "Growth Requirement", |
| "expected": "Fastidious", |
| "distinguishes_from": ["Campylobacter", "Helicobacter"], |
| "notes": "Borrelia cannot be cultured on routine bacteriological media." |
| }, |
| { |
| "field": "Motility Type", |
| "expected": "Axial Filaments", |
| "distinguishes_from": ["Spiral Gram-negative rods"], |
| "notes": "Endoflagella-driven motility is characteristic of spirochetes." |
| } |
| ], |
|
|
| "common_confusions": [ |
| { |
| "genus": "Treponema", |
| "reason": "Shared spirochete morphology and poor Gram stain visibility." |
| }, |
| { |
| "genus": "Leptospira", |
| "reason": "Overlapping spiral morphology but differing clinical syndromes and motility patterns." |
| } |
| ], |
|
|
| "when_to_question_identification": [ |
| "Isolate grows readily on routine agar.", |
| "Strong carbohydrate fermentation reactions are reported.", |
| "Lack of spirochete morphology on dark-field or silver stain." |
| ], |
|
|
| "recommended_next_tests": [ |
| { |
| "test": "PCR (Borrelia-specific targets)", |
| "reason": "Primary diagnostic method due to fastidious growth." |
| }, |
| { |
| "test": "Serology (ELISA followed by immunoblot)", |
| "reason": "Standard approach for Lyme disease diagnosis." |
| }, |
| { |
| "test": "Dark-field microscopy", |
| "reason": "Direct visualisation of spirochetes in clinical specimens." |
| } |
| ], |
|
|
| "supported_species": [ |
| "burgdorferi", |
| "afzelii", |
| "recurrentis" |
| ] |
| } |
