Ecology and Epidemiology of Lyme Borreliosis

Schotthoefer, Anna M.; Frost, Holly M.

doi:10.1016/j.cll.2015.08.003

Cited by 88 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 120 publications

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“…is a species complex of spirochete bacteria that cause Lyme borreliosis (LB) in humans, and that are transmitted by Ixodes ticks [12–14]. Larval ticks acquire Borrelia spirochetes from infected vertebrate reservoir hosts and moult into infected nymphs, which transmit the pathogen to new hosts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The abundance of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii declines over time in the tick vector Ixodes ricinus

et al. 2017

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BackgroundThe population dynamics of vector-borne pathogens inside the arthropod vector can have important consequences for vector-to-host transmission. Tick-borne spirochete bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) species complex cause Lyme borreliosis in humans and spend long periods of time (>12 months) in their Ixodes tick vectors. To date, few studies have investigated the dynamics of Borrelia spirochete populations in unfed Ixodes nymphal ticks.MethodsLarval ticks from our laboratory colony of I. ricinus were experimentally infected with B. afzelii, and killed at 1 month and 4 months after the larva-to-nymph moult. The spirochete load was also compared between engorged larval ticks and unfed nymphs (from the same cohort) and between unfed nymphs and unfed adult ticks (from the same cohort). The spirochete load of B. afzelii in each tick was estimated using qPCR.ResultsThe mean spirochete load in the 1-month-old nymphs (~14,000 spirochetes) was seven times higher than the 4-month-old nymphs (~2000 spirochetes). Thus, the nymphal spirochete load declined by 80% over a period of 3 months. An engorged larval tick acquired ~100 spirochetes, and this population was 20 times larger in a young, unfed nymph. The spirochete load also appeared to decline in adult ticks. Comparison between wild and laboratory populations found that lab ticks were more susceptible to acquiring B. afzelii.ConclusionThe spirochete load of B. afzelii declines dramatically over time in domesticated I. ricinus nymphs under laboratory conditions. Future studies should investigate whether temporal declines in spirochete load occur in wild Ixodes ticks under natural conditions and whether these declines influence the tick-to-host transmission of Borrelia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2187-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The abundance of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii declines over time in the tick vector Ixodes ricinus

et al. 2017

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“…Tick-borne spirochete bacteria that belong to the Borrelia burgdorferi ( sensu lato ) ( s.l .) species complex cause Lyme borreliosis (LB) in humans [7–9]. These tick-borne pathogens establish chronic infections in competent vertebrate reservoir hosts, such as rodents [10–14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of the lifetime host-to-tick transmission between two strains of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii

Jacquet

Margos²,

Fingerle³

et al. 2016

Parasites Vectors

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BackgroundTransmission from the vertebrate host to the arthropod vector is a critical step in the life-cycle of any vector-borne pathogen. How the probability of host-to-vector transmission changes over the duration of the infection is an important predictor of pathogen fitness. The Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii is transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks and establishes a chronic infection inside rodent reservoir hosts. The present study compares the temporal pattern of host-to-tick transmission between two strains of B. afzelii.MethodsLaboratory mice were experimentally infected via tick bite with one of two strains of B. afzelii: A3 and A10. Mice were repeatedly infested with pathogen-free larval Ixodes ricinus ticks over a period of 4 months. Engorged larval ticks moulted into nymphal ticks that were tested for infection with B. afzelii using qPCR. The proportion of infected nymphs was used to characterize the pattern of host-to-tick transmission over time.ResultsBoth strains of B. afzelii followed a similar pattern of host-to-tick transmission. Transmission decreased from the acute to the chronic phase of the infection by 16.1 and 29.3% for strains A3 and A10, respectively. Comparison between strains found no evidence of a trade-off in transmission between the acute and chronic phase of infection. Strain A10 had higher lifetime fitness and established a consistently higher spirochete load in nymphal ticks than strain A3.ConclusionQuantifying the relationship between host-to-vector transmission and the age of infection in the host is critical for estimating the lifetime fitness of vector-borne pathogens.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1929-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…To date, 20 Bbsl genospecies have been described, with a subset of these considered pathogenic for humans. Whereas Borrelia garinii , Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia bavariensis cause the majority of LB cases in Eurasia, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto is the predominant cause of LB in the USA (Margos et al, 2013; Schotthoefer & Frost, 2015; Stanek et al, 2012). Among humans, LB is characterized by tissue localization and low levels of spirochetemia (van Dam et al, 1993; Aguero-Rosenfeld et al, 2005; Liveris et al, 2012; Babady et al, 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

Borrelia mayonii sp. nov., a member of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, detected in patients and ticks in the upper midwestern United States

Pritt

Respicio-Kingry

Sloan

et al. 2016

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

143

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Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a multisystem disease caused by spirochetes in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) genospecies complex. We previously described a novel Bbsl genospecies (type strain MN14-1420T) that causes LB among patients with exposures to ticks in the upper midwestern USA. Patients infected with the novel Bbsl genospecies demonstrated higher levels of spirochetemia and somewhat differing clinical symptoms as compared with those infected with other Bbsl genospecies. The organism was detected from human specimens using PCR, microscopy, serology and culture. The taxonomic status was determined using an eight-housekeeping-gene (uvrA, rplB, recG, pyrG, pepX, clpX, clpA and nifS) multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) and comparison of 16S rRNA gene, flaB, rrf–rrl, ospC and oppA2 nucleotide sequences. Using a system threshold of 98.3% similarity for delineation of Bbsl genospecies by MLSA, we demonstrated that the novel species is a member of the Bbsl genospecies complex, most closely related to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (94.7–94.9% similarity). This same species was identified in Ixodes scapularis ticks collected in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This novel species, Borrelia mayonii sp. nov, is formally described here. The type strain, MN14-1420, is available through the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zelkulturen GmbH (DSM 102811) and the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC BAA-2743).

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Ecology and Epidemiology of Lyme Borreliosis

Cited by 88 publications

References 120 publications

The abundance of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii declines over time in the tick vector Ixodes ricinus

The abundance of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii declines over time in the tick vector Ixodes ricinus

Comparison of the lifetime host-to-tick transmission between two strains of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii

Borrelia mayonii sp. nov., a member of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, detected in patients and ticks in the upper midwestern United States

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