New Peer-Reviewed Publication Highlights Evidence of Mother-to-Child-Transmission of Lyme Disease Bacteria During Pregnancy and Calls for Urgent Research

New paper in Frontiers in Medicine reports results of meeting of international researchers at the Banbury Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., April 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a national nonprofit and leading sponsor of tick-borne disease research in the US, today announced publication of a new peer-reviewed article in Frontiers in Medicine examining the transmission of the Lyme bacteria during pregnancy. The publication points to observational research demonstrating that Lyme bacteria are capable of being transmitted from mother to unborn child and recognition by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the potential for mother-to-child transmission. With approximately 500,000 Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year and the related correlation of transmission during pregnancy being associated with serious adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, or congenital infection that occur in some cases, the paper concludes that the clinical impact of Lyme disease on pregnancy and infant health is an important public health issue that has been insufficiently studied.

“As an infectious disease pediatrician, I have seen firsthand the impact of Lyme disease in children and have suspected that the infection may have been passed from mother to child during pregnancy in a number of my patients, based on their medical histories,” said Charlotte Mao, MD, of Bay Area Lyme Foundation and a co-author of the study. “The first case studies of mother-to-child transmission were observed in the 1980s, yet decades later, we still lack sufficient research and clear, evidence-based guidance on Lyme in pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This is an important public health issue and underscores the urgent need for rigorous studies to fully understand the risks and support patients and healthcare providers in making informed decisions that better protect maternal and infant health.”

Study authors highlight the great need for real-world studies clarifying how Lyme Borrelia, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the US, behaves during pregnancy, and quantifying the outcomes for mothers and infants. Specifically, the paper suggests the creation of large, prospective studies of pregnant individuals with Lyme disease, including systematic long-term clinical follow-up of their children, as well as the importance of collecting biological samples from mothers, placentas, and infants through coordinated biorepositories for use in current or future studies.

“Despite decades of scientific observations indicating that maternal Lyme Borrelia infection can induce disease in offspring, a lack of real-world data to guide physicians and families remains,” said Monica Embers, PhD, lead author on the study, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center, and Scientific Advisory Board member of Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “Collectively, my colleagues and I have been frustrated by limited funding and attention devoted to understanding Lyme disease in pregnancy. By bringing together experts across disciplines, we were able to assess the existing evidence and identify the most critical research priorities needed to better understand mother-to-child transmission and protect the health of both mothers and their infants.”

The publication stems from a scientific convening at the Banbury Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where an international group of researchers, clinicians, and public health experts, many of whom are part of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s research network, met to evaluate existing evidence on Lyme disease during pregnancy and to develop a roadmap for future research. The Banbury Center meeting, funded by the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, evaluated decades of published data, including case reports and case series, animal studies, and clinical, epidemiologic and survey studies of pregnant individuals with and without Lyme disease and their children, concluding that the accumulated evidence indicates that Lyme disease in pregnancy may be associated with mother-to-child transmission of Lyme Borrelia and potential pregnancy adverse outcomes, including fetal and infant morbidity and mortality. Participants emphasized that more rigorous research is needed to determine the frequency of mother-to-child transmission, its mechanisms, and the range of potential health risks, including long-term health consequences, for congenitally infected infants and children.

Other Bay Area Lyme Foundation-affiliated researchers, including Michal Caspi Tal, PhD, and Edward B. Breitschwerdt, DVM, DACVIM, participated in the Banbury Center meeting and are also authors on the study. Bay Area Lyme Foundation supports scientific collaboration to accelerate progress against Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections.

About Lyme disease
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne infection in the US and can cause debilitating long-term symptoms. Transmitted by the bite of an infected tick, and potentially from mother to unborn baby, Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed, making timely treatment difficult. As a result, up to two million Americans may be living with long-term complications. Each year, approximately 500,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease, far more than new cases of HIV/AIDS, West Nile virus, tuberculosis, or malaria combined. A 2022 BMJ Global Health analysis found that about 1.15 billion people worldwide have or previously had an infection with Lyme Borrelia, highlighting the widespread and growing public health impact of this disease.

About Bay Area Lyme Foundation
Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a national organization committed to making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, is the leading public charity sponsor of innovative Lyme disease research in the US. A 501(c)(3) organization based in Silicon Valley, Bay Area Lyme Foundation collaborates with world-class scientists and institutions to accelerate medical breakthroughs for Lyme disease. It is also dedicated to providing reliable, fact-based information so that prevention and the importance of early treatment are common knowledge. Historically, a pivotal donation from the LaureL STEM fund covered all overhead costs through 2024. In 2023, a Bay Area Lyme Endowment was formed, which allows for 100% of all donor contributions to Bay Area Lyme Foundation to go directly to research and prevention programs in perpetuity. For more information about Lyme disease or to get involved, visit www.bayarealyme.org or call us at 650-530-2439.

The Banbury Center
The Banbury Center is the small conference center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, recognized internationally amongst the world's best discussion workshops for biosciences and science policy. The nature of the meetings - small and by invitation only - allows participants to speak freely and engage in extensive discussion; a policy of confidentiality is presumed. You can find further information about the Banbury Center on our website. https://www.cshl.edu/banbury/

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