First report of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto detection in a commune genospecies in Apodemus agrarius in Gwangju, South Korea

AbstractLyme disease is a tick-borne infectious disease caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. However, the distribution of Borrelia genospecies and the tissue detection rate of Borrelia in wild rodents have rarely been investigated. Here, we studied 27 wild rodents (Apodemus agrarius) captured in October and November 2016 in Gwangju, South Korea, and performed nested polymerase chain reaction targeting pyrG and ospA to confirm Borrelia infection. Eight rodents (29.6%) tested positive for Borrelia infection. The heart showed the highest infection rate (7/27; 25.9%), followed by the spleen (4/27; 14.8%), kidney (2/27; 7.4%), and lungs (1/27; 3.7%). The B. afzelii infection rate was 25.9%, with the highest rate observed in the heart (7/27; 25.9%), followed by that in the kidney and spleen (both 2/27; 7.4%). B. garinii and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto were detected only in the spleen (1/27; 3.7%). This is the first report of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto infection in wild rodents in South Korea. The rodent hearts showed a high B. afzelii infection rate, whereas the rodent spleens showed high B. garinii and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto infection rates. Besides B. garinii and B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto may cause Lyme disease in South Korea.

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Rate of Infection of Ixodes ricinus Ticks with Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii and Group VS116 in an Endemic Focus of Lyme Disease in Italy

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1007/s100960050023 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 90-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

M. Cinco ◽

D. Padovan ◽

R. Murgia ◽

L. Poldini ◽

L. Frusteri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Sensu Stricto ◽

Borrelia Garinii ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Endemic Focus ◽

Ixodes Ricinus Ticks ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Stricto

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Seroprevalence in Bats and Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi in Bat Ectoparasites

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms8030440 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 440

Author(s):

Arinjay Banerjee ◽

Kaushal Baid ◽

Taylor Byron ◽

Alyssa Yip ◽

Caleb Ryan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽

Sensu Stricto ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Immunoblot Assay ◽

Big Brown Bats ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Stricto ◽

Flab Gene ◽

Elisa Data

The role of bats in the enzootic cycle of Lyme disease and relapsing fever-causing bacteria is a matter of speculation. In Canada, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (ss) is the genospecies that is responsible for most cases of Lyme disease in humans. In this study, we determined if big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus, have been exposed to spirochetes from the genus Borrelia. We collected serum from 31 bats and tested them for the presence of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We detected cross-reactive antibodies to Borrelia spp. in 14 of 31 bats. We confirmed the ELISA data using a commercial immunoblot assay. Pooled sera from ELISA-positive bats also cross-reacted with Borrelia antigens coated on the immunoblot strips, whereas pooled sera from ELISA-negative bats did not bind to Borrelia spp. antigens. Furthermore, to identify if bat ectoparasites, such as mites, can carry Borrelia spp., we analyzed DNA from 142 bat ectoparasites that were collected between 2003 and 2019. We detected DNA for the Borrelia burgdorferi flaB gene in one bat mite, Spinturnix americanus. The low detection rate of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in bat ectoparasites suggests that bats are not reservoirs of this bacterium. Data from this study also raises intriguing questions about Borrelia infections in bats, including the role of humoral immunity and the ability of bats to be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. This study can lead to more sampling efforts and controlled laboratory studies to identify if bats can be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and the role of bat ectoparasites, such as S. americanus, in the transmission of this spirochete. Furthermore, we outlined reagents that can be used to adapt ELISA kits and immunoblot strips for use with bat sera.

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