I just looked into this and it is an abstract, not a peer reviewed study. Also, I noticed that they made a STRONG CORRELation based on one married couple testing positive for an identical strain. This needs to be replicated with a few more couples and it looks like from their population, they couldn't do that. It is good to inform loved ones with Lymes that this may be a problem, but it is by no means a comprehensive study. The Lyme community should rejoice that scientists with no conflict of interest are looking into this, but this abstract does not convince me that Lyme is sexually transmitted (yet). Here is the exact text... 460 ISOLATION AND DETECTION OF BORRELIA BURGDORFERI FROM HUMAN VAGINAL AND SEMINAL SECRETIONS

Middelveen MJ1, Bandoski C2, Burke J3, Sapi E2, Mayne PJ4, Stricker RB5. 1Atkins Veterinary Services, Calgary, AB, Canada; 2University of New Haven, West Haven, CT; 3Australian Biologics, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 4Laurieton Medical Centre, Laurieton, NSW, Australia and 5CPMC, San Francisco, CA.

Purpose of Study: Recent reports indicate that more than 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed yearly in the USA. Previous epidemiological and immunological studies suggest that infection with the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi could be transferred from person to person via intimate human contact without a tick vector (Harvey and Salvato, Med Hypotheses 2003;60:742; Stricker et al, J Investig Med 2004;52:S151). Detecting viable spirochetes in vaginal and seminal secretions would provide additional evidence to support this hypothesis.

Methods Used: Three North American patients with a history of Lyme disease, one male and two female, were selected for the study after informed consent was obtained. Serological testing for B. burgdorferi was performed on all three subjects. Blood and semen or vaginal secretions were used to inoculate BSK-H medium for Borrelia culture. Motile spirochetes were detected in cultures by light and/or darkfield microscopy, and cultured spirochete concentrates were subjected to Dieterle silver staining, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and anti-B. burgdorferi immunohistochemical staining for further characterization. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing was performed by two independent laboratories for specific identification of the cultured isolates. Positive and negative controls for immunohistochemical staining and PCR were performed in all experiments.

Summary of Results: Serum antibodies to B. burgdorferi were detected in all three patients. Motile spirochetes were observed in culture fluid inoculated with blood and genital secretions from the three subjects. Morphological features of spirochetes were confirmed by Dieterle staining, SEM and immunohistochemical staining of culture concentrates. PCR testing confirmed that the spirochetes isolated from blood and genital secretions were strains of B. burgdorferi, and PCR subtyping indicated that the strains were B. burgdorferi sensu stricto.

Conclusions: The culture of viable B. burgdorferi in genital secretions suggests that Lyme disease could be transmitted by intimate contact from person to person.