Evaluating the risk of tick‐borne relapsing fever among occupational cavers—Austin, TX, 2017

Campbell, Stefanie; Klioueva, Anna; Taylor, Jeff; Nelson, Christina; Tomasi, Suzanne; Replogle, Adam J.; Kwit, Natalie; Sexton, Christopher; Schwartz, Amy M; Hinckley, Alison F.

doi:10.1111/zph.12588

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Borrelia mayonii infected CD1 mice also supported infection of I. scapularis via feeding 32 . Prior publications referred to BSK-R as either modified BSK or modified BSK-II 11,15,16,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] .…”

Section: Bsk-r Supports Growth Of Both Relapsing Fever and Lyme Borreliaementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For sequencing, primers were glpQ-F GGA GCT GAC TAC CTA GAA C, glpQ-R GGG TAT CCA AGG TCC AAT TCC, 16 s-F CCT GGC TTA GAA CTA ACG , and 16 s-R TTC GCC TCT GGT ATT CTT CC. Reactions were as previously described 34 . Consensus sequences were assembled with Clone Manager 9.3 (Sci-Ed, Denver, CO) and aligned to Borrelia sequences in GenBank.…”

Section: Media Formulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Isolation of Borrelia miyamotoi and other Borreliae using a modified BSK medium

Replogle

Sexton

Young

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Borrelia spirochetes are the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis (LB) and relapsing fever (RF). Despite the steady rise in infections and the identification of new species causing human illness over the last decade, isolation of borreliae in culture has become increasingly rare. A modified Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly (BSK) media formulation, BSK-R, was developed for isolation of the emerging RF pathogen, Borrelia miyamotoi. BSK-R is a diluted BSK-II derivative supplemented with Lebovitz’s L-15, mouse and fetal calf serum. Decreasing the concentration of CMRL 1066 and other components was essential for growth of North American B. miyamotoi. Sixteen B. miyamotoi isolates, originating from Ixodes scapularis ticks, rodent and human blood collected in the eastern and upper midwestern United States, were isolated and propagated to densities > 108 spirochetes/mL. Growth of five other RF and ten different LB borreliae readily occurred in BSK-R. Additionally, primary culture recovery of 20 isolates of Borrelia hermsii, Borrelia turicatae, Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii was achieved in BSK-R using whole blood from infected patients. These data indicate this broadly encompassing borreliae media can aid in in vitro culture recovery of RF and LB spirochetes, including the direct isolation of new and emerging human pathogens.

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Section: Bsk-r Supports Growth Of Both Relapsing Fever and Lyme Borreliaementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Media Formulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation of Borrelia miyamotoi and other Borreliae using a modified BSK medium

Replogle

Sexton

Young

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…The results demonstrated vertebrate DNA could be detected 330 days post-feeding and through multiple molts, suggesting longer retention of bloodmeal DNA in soft ticks compared to hard ticks. The current study builds on these prior results by conducting a PCR-Sanger sequencing bloodmeal analysis protocol on O. turicata fed experimentally on known hosts as well as field-collected specimens from cave environments in Texas near the location of recent outbreaks of TBRF in humans ( 29 , 30 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host Bloodmeal Identification in Cave-Dwelling Ornithodoros turicata Dugès (Ixodida: Argasidae), Texas, USA

Busselman

Olson²,

Martinez

et al. 2021

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Tick-host bloodmeal associations are important factors when characterizing risks of associated pathogen transmission and applying appropriate management strategies. Despite their biological importance, comparatively little is known about soft tick (Argasidae) host associations in the United States compared to hard ticks (Ixodidae). In this study, we evaluated a PCR and direct Sanger sequencing method for identifying the bloodmeal hosts of soft ticks. We collected 381 cave-associated Ornithodoros turicata near San Antonio, Texas, USA, and also utilized eight colony-reared specimens fed artificially on known host blood sources over 1.5 years ago. We correctly identified the vertebrate host bloodmeals of two colony-reared ticks (chicken and pig) up to 1,105 days post-feeding, and identified bloodmeal hosts from 19 out of 168 field-collected soft ticks, including raccoon (78.9%), black vulture (10.5%), Texas black rattlesnake (5.3%), and human (5.3%). Our results confirm the retention of vertebrate blood DNA in soft ticks and advance the knowledge of argasid host associations in cave-dwelling O. turicata.

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“…Recent reports of human exposure to B. turicatae within the city limits of Austin, Texas indicated the distribution of the pathogen in densely populated areas of Texas. For example, serological surveys of cave workers from Austin showed an occupational hazard to relapsing fever spirochetes in the city [17]. In 2020, a case report of neuroborreliosis caused by B. turicatae narrowed the suspected exposure site to a park in Austin [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and distribution of the tick-borne relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia turicatae

et al. 2021

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Borrelia turicatae is a causative agent of tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) in the subtropics and tropics of the United States and Latin America. Historically, B. turicatae was thought to be maintained in enzootic cycles in rural areas. However, there is growing evidence that suggests the pathogen has established endemic foci in densely populated regions of Texas. With the growth of homelessness in the state and human activity in city parks, it was important to implement field collection efforts to identify areas where B. turicatae and its vector circulate. Between 2017 and 2020 we collected Ornithodoros turicata ticks in suburban and urban areas including public and private parks and recreational spaces. Ticks were fed on naïve mice and spirochetes were isolated from the blood. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed on eight newly obtained isolates and included previously reported sequences. The four chromosomal loci targeted for MLST were 16S ribosomal RNA (rrs), flagellin B (flaB), DNA gyrase B (gyrB), and the intergenic spacer (IGS). Given the complexity of Borrelia genomes, plasmid diversity was also evaluated. These studies indicate that the IGS locus segregates B. turicatae into four genomic types and plasmid diversity is extensive between isolates. Furthermore, B. turicatae and its vector have established endemic foci in parks and recreational areas in densely populated settings of Texas.

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Evaluating the risk of tick‐borne relapsing fever among occupational cavers—Austin, TX, 2017

Cited by 10 publications

References 19 publications

Isolation of Borrelia miyamotoi and other Borreliae using a modified BSK medium

Isolation of Borrelia miyamotoi and other Borreliae using a modified BSK medium

Host Bloodmeal Identification in Cave-Dwelling Ornithodoros turicata Dugès (Ixodida: Argasidae), Texas, USA

Diversity and distribution of the tick-borne relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia turicatae

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