Bed bugs and Lyme

I've seen at least a couple of posts on this forum claiming bed bugs can transmit Lyme. (One was in response to my post about getting bed bug bites on vacation but getting Lyme rash along with bb bite marks.)

If that claim is true, I'd like to see a reference to follow up on. My own LLMD did not agree bed bugs may have caused my Lyme when I raised the issue. If there is any possibility at all, I'd like to find out, because I may have brought bed bugs home with me (doubtful but I'm investigating). It would suck to treat my Lyme for two months then get reinfected by bed bugs.

Most of the articles that would prove much of what we need to prove are not free access articles - they are held by organizations like this article, where you have to pay to read it. So your doctor would likely have access to better articles than say, I do, as I simply can't afford to pay for each and every article that I woudl like/need to read.

This is an excerpt that I found though:

"When Romero (2009) fed bed bugs Borrelia hermsii, an etiological agent of relapsing fever, he
found that spirochetes persisted in the gut.."

In this article: www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1664/12-RA-042R.1?journalCode=nynt.1

Most research seems to point to that the bed bugs must be infected and then pass the infection on in less than 24 hours - which is possible, even if unlikely. What we need now is more research though.

Here is one study that was done and says this in their conclusion about Borrelia Hermesii (tick borne relapsing fever), which is the only strain that I can find studies on right now:
"In conclusion, B. hermsii spirochetes that were orally-ingested by bed bugs persisted in gut content or insect body for up to one day. These observations provide evidence that B. hermsii may be present in the body of bed bugs for up to 24 h if this bacterium has been ingested while feeding on an infected human or animal host. These results raise the question about the potential for transmission of this disease agent by bed bugs. Our results suggest that the bed bug is an improbable vector for this spirochete.

While the pathogen was detected in feces for 24 h, defecation would likely only occur on the original bacteremic host because only one meal is required for satiation. Similarly, a crushed bed bug would only be infective if it fed and then moved to an uninfected host within 24 h. Because bed bugs will feed a second time only after a minimum of 4 days, and the bacteria only persists in the bed bug or its feces for less than 2 d, transmission from host to host seems unlikely. "
uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1765&context=gradschool_diss

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Hello. I was bitten by bed bugs last October and I'm here to tell you they absolutely made me sick. I have many Lyme symptoms and am currently waiting for test results to come back. My husband also was bitten and he also is developing developing similar symptoms. There is an interesting study done in 2014 where bed bugs transmitted the T. Cruzi bacteria that causes Chagas disease between mice. They didn't believe that could happen so they now know more research is needed to see if humans can also get diseases/bacteria from bed bugs. I can save them the time and money I know of many LLMDs in California that believe bed bugs can spread Lyme. Just because there's not been enough study done regarding it doesn't mean it can't happen. Good luck!