Niche Partitioning of Borrelia Burgdorferi and Borrelia Miyamotoi in the Same Tick Vector and Mammalian Reservoir Species

Overview

Journal Am J Trop Med Hyg

Specialty Tropical Medicine

Date 2009 Dec 10

PMID 19996447

Citations 161

Authors

Alan G Barbour

Jonas Bunikis

Bridgit Travinsky

Anne Gatewood Hoen

Maria A Diuk-Wasser

Durland Fish

Jean I Tsao

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The Lyme borreliosis agent Borrelia burgdorferi and the relapsing fever group species Borrelia miyamotoi co-occur in the United States. We used species-specific, quantitative polymerase chain reaction to study both species in the blood and skin of Peromyscus leucopus mice and host-seeking Ixodes scapularis nymphs at a Connecticut site. Bacteremias with B. burgdorferi or B. miyamotoi were most prevalent during periods of greatest activity for nymphs or larvae, respectively. Whereas B. burgdorferi was 30-fold more frequent than B. miyamotoi in skin biopsies and mice had higher densities of B. burgdorferi densities in the skin than in the blood, B. miyamotoi densities were higher in blood than skin. In a survey of host-seeking nymphs in 11 northern states, infection prevalences for B. burgdorferi and B. miyamotoi averaged approximately 0.20 and approximately 0.02, respectively. Co-infections of P. leucopus or I. scapularis with both B. burgdorferi and B. miyamotoi were neither more nor less common than random expectations.

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