J Infect Dis. 1990 Aug;162(2):557-9.
Johnson SE1, Swaminathan B, Moore P, Broome CV, Parvin M.
1Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
QUOTE- "At inoculum levels of 20 or 2000 viable cells/ml, B. burgdorferi survived in processed blood through 48 days of storage at 4 degrees C. B. burgdorferi was isolated from packed cells after 36 days of storage at 4 degrees C even when the initial inoculum level was as low as 0.2 cells/ml. The data demonstrate that B. burgdorferi can survive the blood processing procedures normally applied to transfused blood in the USA."