Longevity and Survival in a Population of White-Footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus)

Schug, Malcolm D.; Vessey, Stephen H.; Korytko, Andrew I.

doi:10.2307/1382107

Cited by 39 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Censoring times have been used in previous studies on white-footed mice to estimate survival. 47,48,63 However, other explanations have to be considered for the disappearance of mice such as emigration, predation, and accidental death. Emigration of mice from the study sites was assessed beginning in the spring of 1992 by trapping approximately 15 m beyond the boundaries of each grid.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal study of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi in a population of Peromyscus leucopus at a Lyme disease-enzootic site in Maryland.

Hofmeister¹,

Ellis²,

Glass³

et al. 1999

Am J Trop Med Hyg

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Abstract. The maintenance of Borrelia burgdorferi in a population of Peromyscus leucopus was investigated from 202 mark and recapture mice and 61 mice that were removed from a site in Baltimore County, Maryland. Borrelia burgdorferi infection was detected by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of ear tissue, and exposure to the spirochete was quantified by serology. Overall prevalence of B. burgdorferi, as determined by culture and PCR of ear tissue at first capture, was 25% in the longitudinal sample and 42% in the cross-sectional sample. Significantly more juvenile mice were captured in the longitudinal sample (18%) than in the cross-sectional sample (0%). Among 36 captured juvenile mice, only one was infected with B. burgdorferi; this contributed to a significant trend for infection with B. burgdorferi with age. Recovery from infection with B. burgdorferi was not detected among 77 mice followed for an average of 160 days. The incidence rate of infection with B. burgdorferi was 10 times greater in mice captured during two periods of high risk of exposure to nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks compared with a period of low risk. Maintenance of B. burgdorferi in this population was dependent on indirect transmission of the organism from infected ticks to susceptible mice and development of chronic infection with the spirochete, which had no measurable effect on the survival of infected mice.Since Lyme disease was first described in 1977, 1 it has become the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States. 2 The disease, which is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, 3,4 is transmitted to humans by the bite of an Ixodid tick: Ixodes scapularis in the eastern and northcentral parts of the United States (I. dammini 5 as synonymized by Oliver and others 6 ) and I. pacificus 7,8 in the western United States. An enzootic cycle involving vertebrate hosts and ticks is critical for the maintenance of the spirochete in Lyme disease enzootic areas in the eastern and mid-central parts of the United States because the rate of transovarial transmission of the spirochete in I. scapularis is extremely low. 9 Transovarial transmission of B. burgdorferi in I. pacificus has been demonstrated; 10 however, on the west coast of the United States the relative importance of ticks and vertebrate animals in the maintenance of B. burgdorferi remains unclear.Although B. burgdorferi has been isolated from a wide variety of mammalian and avian hosts in the eastern and northcentral parts of the United States, 11,12 only white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), 13,14 chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), 15 skunks (Mephitis mephitis) and raccoons (Procyon lotor), 16 and Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) 17 have been shown to be competent reservoir hosts of B. burgdorferi in enzootic cycles of the organism in those areas. White-footed mice, in comparison with meadow voles and chipmunks 15 and skunks and raccoons, 16 are generally recognized in these areas as the most important reserv...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal study of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi in a population of Peromyscus leucopus at a Lyme disease-enzootic site in Maryland.

Hofmeister¹,

Ellis²,

Glass³

et al. 1999

Am J Trop Med Hyg

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The primary reservoir for B. burgdorferi in the eastern United States is the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus (27), which once infected probably remains so for life (41,67) with no apparent mortality as a result (14,41). However, these mice are relatively short-lived, and wild populations usually have a complete turnover and replacement with young each year (47), although rare individuals may live long enough to overwinter into the next spring (14,62). The primary tick vector associated with these mice, I. scapularis, has a 2-year life cycle (23).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable Tick Protein in Two Genomic Groups of the Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia hermsii in Western North America

et al. 2005

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Borrelia hermsii is the primary cause of tick-borne relapsing fever in North America. When its tick vector, Ornithodoros hermsi, acquires these spirochetes from the blood of an infected mammal, the bacteria switch their outer surface from one of many bloodstream variable major proteins (Vmps) to a unique protein, Vtp (Vsp33). Vtp may be critical for successful tick transmission of B. hermsii; however, the gene encoding this protein has been described previously in only one isolate. Here we identified and sequenced the vtp gene in 31 isolates of B. hermsii collected over 40 years from localities throughout much of its known geographic distribution. Seven major Vtp types were found. Little or no sequence variation existed within types, but between them significant variation was observed, similar to the pattern of diversity described for the outer surface protein C (OspC) gene in Lyme disease spirochetes. The pattern of sequence relatedness among the Vtp types was incongruent in two branches compared to two genomic groups identified among the isolates by multilocus sequence typing of the 16S rRNA, flaB, gyrB, and glpQ genes. Therefore, both horizontal transfer and recombination within and between the two genomic groups were responsible for some of the variation observed in the vtp gene. O. hermsi ticks were capable of transmitting spirochetes in the newly identified genomic group. Therefore, given the longevity of the tick vector and persistent infection of spirochetes in ticks, these arthropods rather than mammals may be the likely host where the exchange of spirochetal DNA occurs.

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“…have larger home ranges than females (Wolff, 1985), possibly increasing the probability that they contact infective eggs at a latrine. Body mass has been positively correlated with survival in mice (Fleming and Rauscher, 1978;Schug et al, 1991). A longer life span may also increase the probability of infection, as well as allow more time to accumulate a large B. procyonis burden.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Urbanization on Prevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis in Intermediate Host Populations

Kellner

Page

Downey

et al. 2012

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:Baylisascaris procyonis is an intestinal parasite of raccoons (Procyon lotor) that can also infect humans and a wide range of wildlife species. Prevalence of B. procyonis in raccoon populations appears to decrease as the landscape urbanizes, but less is known about prevalence in the small-mammal intermediate hosts of the parasite. We measured prevalence of B. procyonis in populations of mice (Peromyscus spp.) in forest preserves along a gradient of urbanization in Illinois. Prevalence in the mouse intermediate host exhibited a trend opposite raccoons: prevalence increased as surrounding human population density increased. This counterintuitive result may be due to higher overall environmental loads of B. procyonis in urban areas due to higher raccoon densities. Our results emphasize the need to understand fully the transmission dynamics of B. procyonis in its definitive and intermediate hosts in order to design and implement effective strategies to mitigate zoonotic risks to humans.

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Longevity and Survival in a Population of White-Footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus)

Cited by 39 publications

References 15 publications

Longitudinal study of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi in a population of Peromyscus leucopus at a Lyme disease-enzootic site in Maryland.

Longitudinal study of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi in a population of Peromyscus leucopus at a Lyme disease-enzootic site in Maryland.

Variable Tick Protein in Two Genomic Groups of the Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia hermsii in Western North America

Effects of Urbanization on Prevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis in Intermediate Host Populations

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