Coinfecting Deer‐Associated Zoonoses: Lyme Disease, Babesiosis, and Ehrlichiosis

Abstract

The heightened worldwide recognition of the health burden of tickborne infection derives largely from the increasing incidence of Lyme disease, human babesiosis, and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, both individually and in concert. Because these infections share the same rodent reservoir and tick vector hosts, they can be cotransmitted to human hosts. Indeed, human coinfections involving various combinations of these pathogens are common, and some tend to be particularly severe. Diagnostic procedures and clinical management of the resulting disease syndrome is rendered complex by the diversity of pathogens involved and by the unusual diversity and duration of symptoms.

The Biological Survey of Canada: A Personal History

“…Coinfection of ticks with these agents can and does occur, with varying prevalence of infection depending on the geographic location of the ticks. Coinfections in humans with two or all three of these organisms have been reported (Walker et al 1996;Thompson et al 2001;Swanson et al 2006). The clinical manifestations of concurrent Lyme disease and babesiosis tend to be more severe than would be expected if these infections occurred separately.…”

“…The clinical manifestations of concurrent Lyme disease and babesiosis tend to be more severe than would be expected if these infections occurred separately. It is less clear if patients with both Lyme disease and HGA have a different clinical outcome than do patients with Lyme disease alone (Thompson et al 2001).…”

Coexistence of emerging bacterial pathogens inIxodes ricinusticks in Serbia

“…Co-infection with tick-associated pathogens has the potential to modulate their transmission dynamics at multiple points Parasitic zoonoses in Europe Parasite, 2010, 17, 211-217 in the transmission chain. This includes alterations in the efficiency of transmission from host to tick or vice versa, cooperative or competitive pathogen interactions and increasing or decreasing disease severity among hosts (Thompson et al, 2001). Human co-infection with tick-borne pathogens can occur after attachment of a single tick infected with multiple pathogens or from concurrent single pathogen tick attachments.…”

Transmission ofAnaplasma phagocytophilumtoIxodes ricinusTicks from Sheep in the Acute and Post-Acute Phases of Infection

“…Most studies to date that have investigated the importance of mammalian hosts of A. phagocytophilum and its tick vectors have focused on rodents (e.g., see references 5, 20, and 37), but this organism has a wide mammalian host range, infecting domesticated cats, dogs, sheep, cows, and horses (4,9,13,22). Ruminants such as deer and sheep are frequently very important hosts for vector ticks in North America and Europe (2,26,38) and are also potentially important reservoir hosts of A. phagocytophilum (2,3,22).…”