<I>Borrelia burgdorferi</I> Sensu Stricto in Yellow-Necked Mice and Feeding <I>Ixodes ricinus</I> Ticks in a Forest Habitat of West Central Poland

Abstract

Wild rodents and the subadult Ixodes ricinus (L.) ticks infesting them were examined for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner s.l. in a sylvatic habitat in west central Poland during May-September 2002. In total, 818 feeding ticks were recovered from 73 infested yellow-necked mice, Apodemus flavicollis Melchior; in addition, bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus Schreber, were rarely captured and proved to be weakly parasitized. Only 2.7% of A. flavicollis and 2.2% of 320 engorging larvae were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for the bacterium. All spirochete-PCR-positive samples yielded exclusively B. burgdorferi s.s. This genospecies was also the most prevalent in questing nymphs and accounted for 87.5% of the total number of Borrelia infections in nymphal ticks collected during May and June 2 yr later. The presence of the same genospecies both in naturally engorged larvae and blood-positive animals as well as the high predominance of B. burgdorferi s.s. in questing nymphs strongly differs from most study sites investigated in Europe. This unique pattern of Borrelia-diversity in both rodents and ticks seems to be determined by highly site-specific host vertebrate cenosis, and yellow-necked mice are involved in the maintenance of B. burgdorferi s.s. in the forest habitat. However, the transmission efficiency of this spirochete from the mice to the I. ricinus vector seems to be very low. The research provides additional information on the complexity of B. burgdorferi s.l. ecology in Europe, pointing to the importance of the local host community.

Identification and characterization of 31 isolates of Borrelia burgdorferi (Spirochaetales, Spirochaetaceae) obtained from various hosts and vectors using PCR-RFLP and SDS-PAGE analysis

“…We did not find B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, although this genospecies was reported in the Czech Republic (Štìpánová-Tresová et al 2000a, Danielová et al 2004, as well as in some localities in Southern Europe, e.g. Northern Italy (Cinco et al 1996), Austria (Stünzner et al 1998), Eastern Slovakia (Štìpánová-Tresová et al 2000b) and other European countries (Hubálek and Halouzka 1997, Maetzel et al 2005, Michalik et al 2005. However, our results prove the importance of investigation of the local distribution of B. burgdorferi genospecies in endemic areas and reveal the possibility that the human urban population in Brno may come in contact with the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis.…”

Threat of attacks of Ixodes ricinus ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and Lyme borreliosis within urban heat islands in south-western Poland

“…Maintenance of foci of infection with these spirochetes in tick populations is associated with occurrence in local ecosystems of animal species, which can be competent B. burgdorferi s.l. reservoirs, as active bacteraemia develops in their organisms [33][34][35][36][37].…”

“…Without showing distinct preferences, this spirochete genospecies infects two most important reservoir groups, i.e. small rodents and passerine birds [36][37][38][39][40].…”

Introduced Siberian Chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus barberi) Harbor More-Diverse Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Genospecies than Native Bank Voles (Myodes glareolus)

“…B. afzelii and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto both infected more than 15% of the chipmunks. The reservoir hosts for B. burgdorferi sensu stricto are not well known in Europe, having been reported for only a few small rodents (23,33) and sciurids (17; A. Paulauskas, D. Arnbrasiene, J. Radzijevskaja, O. Rosef, and J. Turcinaviciene, presented at the 9th International Jena Symposium on Tick-Borne Diseases, Jena, Germany, 15 to 17 March 2007). Therefore, if they are a competent reservoir for B. burgdorferi sensu lato, Siberian chipmunks could play an important role in the amplification of this genospecies.…”