Borrelia miyamotoi: A human tick-borne relapsing fever spirochete in Europe and its potential impact on public health

Borrelia miyamotoi is a tick-borne bacterium which has only recently been identified in Europe as a human pathogen causing relapsing fever and little is known about its local impact on human health. There are three types of B. miyamotoi: Asian (Siberian), European, and American. B. miyamotoi is transmitted by the same Ixodes ricinus-persulcatus species complex, which also transmits B. burgdorferi s.l., the Lyme borreliosis group. Both Borrelia groups are mostly maintained in natural rodent populations. The aim of this review is to summarize the available literature on B. miyamotoi, with the focus of attention falling on Europe, as well as to describe its presence in ticks, reservoir hosts, and humans and discuss its potential impact on public health.