High SNP density in the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, the principal vector of Lyme disease spirochetes

This study provides a novel method of documenting established populations of bird-feeding ticks. Single populations of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the rabbit tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, were revealed in southwestern Québec, Canada. Blacklegged tick nymphs and, similarly, larval and nymphal rabbit ticks were tested for the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), using PCR and the flagellin (flaB) gene, and 14 (42%) of 33 of blacklegged tick nymphs tested were positive. In contrast, larval and nymphal H. leporsipalustris ticks were negative for Bbsl. The occurrence of Bbsl in I. scapularis nymphs brings to light the presence of a Lyme disease endemic area at this songbird nesting locality. Because our findings denote that this area is a Lyme disease endemic area, and I. scapularis is a human-biting tick, local residents and outdoor workers must take preventive measures to avoid tick bites. Furthermore, local healthcare practitioners must include Lyme disease in their differential diagnosis.

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Immature Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Collected From Peromyscus leucopus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) and Peromyscus maniculatus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) Nests in Northern Wisconsin

Journal of Medical Entomology ◽

10.1093/jme/tjz133 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 57 (1) ◽

pp. 304-307 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ryan T Larson ◽

Xia Lee ◽

Tela Zembsch ◽

Gebbiena M Bron ◽

Susan M Paskewitz

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Lyme Disease ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Dermacentor Variabilis ◽

Immature Stages ◽

Eastern United States ◽

Blacklegged Tick ◽

Disease Vector ◽

Blood Meals

Abstract The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, is the primary Lyme disease vector in the eastern United States. Both immature stages of I. scapularis take blood meals from mice belonging to the genus Peromyscus. Mice are active during the night and spend the majority of diel periods in nests. Thus, immature I. scapularis have a greater opportunity to drop from Peromyscus hosts while in nests compared with the forest floor. Here, we collected 11 Peromyscus nests during a 3-mo period during which the immature I. scapularis are known to be active. We then examined nesting materials for the presence of I. scapularis. Immature I. scapularis were detected in 64% of Peromyscus nests examined. Additionally, 55% of the nests contained at least one Dermacentor variabilis Say larva. Eighty-seven percent of all larval ticks found within nests were blood-fed. Because Peromyscus spp. are highly competent reservoirs of numerous tick-borne pathogens, the ticks that detach in their nests may be important for the maintenance of tick-borne diseases. However, further studies are needed to determine the fate of the I. scapularis that detach in Peromyscus nests.

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Lyme Disease Emergence after Invasion of the Blacklegged Tick,Ixodes scapularis, Ontario, Canada, 2010–2016

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

10.3201/eid2502.180771 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 328-332 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Manisha A. Kulkarni ◽

Isha Narula ◽

Andreea M. Slatculescu ◽

Curtis Russell

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Disease Emergence ◽

Blacklegged Tick

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Landscape determinants of density of blacklegged ticks, vectors of Lyme disease, at the northern edge of their distribution in Canada

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-50858-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Benoit Talbot ◽

Andreea Slatculescu ◽

Charles R. Thickstun ◽

Jules K. Koffi ◽

Patrick A. Leighton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Sensu Stricto ◽

Forest Composition ◽

Eastern United States ◽

Tick Density ◽

Blacklegged Tick ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Northern Edge ◽

The Many

Abstract In eastern North America, including Canada, Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and transmitted to humans by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. The last decade has seen a growing incidence of Lyme disease in Canada, following the northward range expansion of I. scapularis tick populations from endemic areas in eastern United States. This may be attributable to movement of the many hosts that they parasitize, including songbirds, deer and small mammals. In this study, we wanted to test the effect of spatial, temporal and ecological variables, on blacklegged tick density and infection rates, near the northern limit of their distribution in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. We found an effect of both proportion of forested areas and distance to roads, on density of I. scapularis ticks and prevalence of infection by B. burgdorferi. We also found an effect of both sampling year and ordinal sampling data on prevalence of infection by B. burgdorferi. In six adjacent sites showing evidence of reproducing I. scapularis populations, we found that forest composition and structure influenced density of I. scapularis ticks. Our results suggest that blacklegged tick density and infection rate in Canada may be influenced by a variety of factors.

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First report of a blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae), parasitizing a raptor in Canada

Systematic and Applied Acarology ◽

10.11158/saa.22.2.5 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 208 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

John D. Scott ◽

Janet E. Foley ◽

Monica R. Young ◽

Lance A. Durden

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Oral Cavity ◽

Tick Species ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato ◽

First Report ◽

American Kestrel ◽

Blacklegged Tick ◽

Host Seeking ◽

Base Of The Tongue

We document the first report of a blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, parasitizing an American Kestrel, Falco sparverius Linnaeus (Falconiformes: Falconidae), in Canada. A fully engorged I. scapularis nymph was collected from the base of the tongue of an American Kestrel nestling recovered at Mirabel, Québec. This nestling had recently fledged the nest, and was exposed to I. scapularis immatures that were host-seeking in the surrounding low-level vegetation. DNA barcoding was used to confirm the identification of the tick. Primers of the flagellin (fla) gene were employed to determine whether the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner, was present in the I. scapularis nymph; the tick was negative. We provide the first report of I. scapularis parasitizing a raptor in Canada and, likewise, the first account of this tick species attached to the oral cavity of a bird. Moreover, this bird parasitism is the first documentation of a tick on a falconid bird in Canada.

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Species distribution models for the eastern blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the Lyme disease pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi, in Ontario, Canada

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0238126 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (9) ◽

pp. e0238126

Author(s):

Andreea M. Slatculescu ◽

Katie M. Clow ◽

Roman McKay ◽

Benoit Talbot ◽

James J. Logan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Species Distribution Models ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Distribution Models ◽

Blacklegged Tick

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Decoupling of Blacklegged Tick Abundance and Lyme Disease Incidence in Southern Maine, USA

Journal of Medical Entomology ◽

10.1093/jme/tjz218 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 57 (3) ◽

pp. 755-765 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Susan P Elias ◽

Kirk A Maasch ◽

Norman T Anderson ◽

Peter W Rand ◽

Eleanor H Lacombe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Disease Incidence ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Adult Tick ◽

Surveillance Data ◽

Tick Abundance ◽

Blacklegged Tick ◽

Rising Incidence ◽

A Site

Abstract Lyme disease is caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner (Spirocheatales: Spirochaetaceae) which is transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis Say (Ixodida: Ixodidae). Maine, USA, is a high Lyme disease incidence state, with rising incidence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses associated with increasing I. scapularis abundance and northward range expansion. Members of the public submitted ticks to a tick identification program (1990–2013). From these passive surveillance data, we characterized temporal trends in I. scapularis submission rate (an index of abundance), comparing Maine’s northern tier (seven counties) versus southern tier (nine counties). In the northern tier, the I. scapularis submission rate increased throughout the duration of the time series, suggesting I. scapularis was emergent but not established. By contrast, in the southern tier, submission rate increased initially but leveled off after 10–14 yr, suggesting I. scapularis was established by the mid-2000s. Active (field) surveillance data from a site in the southern tier—bird tick burdens and questing adult tick collections—corroborated this leveling pattern. Lyme disease incidence and I. scapularis submission rate were temporally correlated in the northern but not southern tier. This suggested a decoupling of reported disease incidence and entomological risk.

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