Duration of Adult Female Ixodes dammini Attachment and Transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi, with Description of a Needle Aspiration Isolation Method

Abstract

The relationship between the attachment duration of adult female Ixodes dammini and the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi was studied. Sixteen rabbits were exposed to spirochete-infected female ticks for specified intervals. All five rabbits exposed to ticks that fed to repletion (greater than 120 h) became infected, as did two of three exposed for 48 h. In contrast, five rabbits exposed to a cumulative total of 53 infected female I. dammini for 36 h failed to become infected, as did three rabbits exposed for 24 h. A needle aspirate method facilitated the isolation of spirochetes from host skin.

Visualization of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on whole-body sections of Ixodes ricinus ticks and gerbil skin biopsies

“…Burgdorfer et al, 1982 ;Piesman et al, 1991) or direct immunofluorescence assay on crushed tick samples (Kahl et al, 1998b). Both methods are reliable, easy to perform in large series, and give good semi-quantitative results.…”

“…In contrast, in North America, human LB seems to be caused exclusively by B. burgdorferi ss transmitted by Ixodes scapularis in the East and Ixodes pacificus in the West. Although the general borrelial migration pattern within infected Ixodes ticks during feeding from the tick midgut via the salivary glands into the vertebrate host seems to be the same in I. ricinus and I. scapularis (Benach et al, 1987 ;Burgdorfer et al, 1989 ;Piesman et al, 1991 ;Piesman, 1995 ;Gern et al, 1996), recent investigations addressing the risk of B. burgdorferi sl transmission by these tick species revealed intriguing differences. It was shown that nymphal I. ricinus can transmit borreliae earlier during the blood meal than has been known from I. scapularis nymphs (Kahl et al, 1998a).…”

Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato Detected in Skin of Norwegian Mountain Hares (Lepus Timidus) Without Signs of Dissemination

“…in disease and death of hares. Borrelia garinii was found in blood and spleen samples from Chinese hares (Lepus sinensis; Zhan et al, 2009) and erythema migrans and the presence of spirochetes were demonstrated in skin and blood of experimentally infected New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus; Kornblatt et al, 1984;Piesman et al, 1991). Nevertheless, we found no lesions such as those described in the experimental animal model or in human LB (arthritis, myocarditis, meningitis, encephalitis, or chronic skin lesions), even though a small proportion of the hares harbored B. burgdorferi s.l.…”

Comparison of Tick Feeding Success and Vector Competence for Borrelia burgdorferi Among Immature Ixodes scapularis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) of Both Southern and Northern Clades

“…The CT colony originated from female I. scapularis collected in Bridgeport, CT, in 2009 and maintained as previously described (Piesman 1993). MS ticks were collected as adults from vegetation during March 2011 in Marshall County, MS, and fed on rabbits per previous protocols (Piesman 1991). LA ticks were derived from a colony maintained at the Tulane Primate Center, Covington, LA (but originally collected nearby).…”