A Convergence of Tick-Transmitted Diseases within the Lyme Disease Transmission Cycle

ABSTRACTIn Europe, dormice serve as competent reservoir hosts for particular genospecies of the tick-borne agent of Lyme disease (LD) and seem to support them more efficiently than do mice or voles. The longevity of edible dormice (Glis glis) and their attractiveness for ticks may result in a predominance of LD spirochetes in ticks questing in dormouse habitats. To investigate the role of edible dormice in the transmission cycle of LD spirochetes, we sampled skin tissue from the ear pinnae of dormice inhabiting five different study sites in south western Germany. Of 501 edible dormice, 12.6% harbored DNA of LD spirochetes. Edible dormice were infected most frequently with the pathogenic LD spirocheteBorrelia afzelii. The DNA ofB. gariniiandB. bavariensiswas detected in ca. 0.5% of the examined individuals. No spirochetal DNA was detectable in the skin of edible dormice until July, 6 weeks after they generally start to emerge from their obligate hibernation. Thereafter, the prevalence of spirochetal DNA in edible dormice increased during the remaining period of their 4 to 5 months of activity, reaching nearly 40% in September. Males were more than four times more likely to harbor LD spirochetes than females, and yearlings were almost twice more likely to be infected than adults. The seasonality of the prevalence of LD spirochetes in edible dormice was pronounced and may affect their role as a reservoir host in respect to other hosts.

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TrackingBorrelia afzeliifrom infectedIxodes ricinusnymphs to mice suggests a direct ‘gut-to-mouth’ route of Lyme disease transmission

10.1101/316927 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tereza Pospisilova ◽

Veronika Urbanova ◽

Ondrej Hes ◽

Petr Kopacek ◽

Ondrej Hajdusek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salivary Glands ◽

Lyme Borreliosis ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Surface Protein ◽

Gut Contents ◽

Tick Saliva ◽

Borrelia Afzelii ◽

Transmission Cycle ◽

Main Requirement

AbstractQuantitative tracking ofBorrelia afzeliihas shown that its transmission cycle differs from the salivary route ofB. burgdorferitransmission byIxodes scapularis.Borrelia afzeliiare abundant in the guts of unfedIxodes ricinusnymphs and their numbers continuously decrease during feeding. In contrast, spirochetes are not present in the salivary glands.Borrelia afzeliitransmission starts during the early stages of feeding, spirochetes could be detected in murine skin within 1 day of tick attachment. Tick saliva is not essential forB. afzeliiinfectivity, the main requirement for successful host colonization being a change in outer surface protein expression that occurs in the tick gut during feeding. Spirochetes in vertebrate mode are able to survive within the host even if the tick is not present. On the basis of our data we propose that a direct ‘gut-to-mouth’ route of infection appears to be the main route ofB. afzeliitransmission.ImportanceLyme borreliosis is the most common vector-borne disease in the USA and Europe. The disease is caused by theBorreliaspirochetes and is transmitted throughIxodesticks. A better understanding of howBorreliaspirochetes are transmitted is crucial for development of efficient vaccines for preventing Lyme borreliosis. Here we present that the transmission of EuropeanB. afzeliispirochetes byI. ricinusticks significantly differs from the model transmission cycle described for AmericanB. burgdorferi/I. scapularis. We suggest thatB. afzeliiis not transmitted via salivary glands but most likely through the ‘midgut to mouthpart’ route. We further demonstrate that tick saliva is not important forB. afzeliitransmission and infectivity. Therefore, we support early studies by Willy Burgdorfer, who proposed thatBorreliatransmission occurs by regurgitation of infected gut contents. Our findings collectively point to theBorrelia-tick midgut interface as the correct target in our endeavours to combat Lyme borreliosis.

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Modelling Spatiotemporal Patterns of Lyme Disease Emergence in Québec

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18189669 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (18) ◽

pp. 9669

Author(s):

Marc-Antoine Tutt-Guérette ◽

Mengru Yuan ◽

Daniel Szaroz ◽

Britt McKinnon ◽

Yan Kestens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Disease Onset ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽

Disease Emergence ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Risk Of Disease

Lyme disease is a growing public health problem in Québec. Its emergence over the last decade is caused by environmental and anthropological factors that favour the survival of Ixodes scapularis, the vector of Lyme disease transmission. The objective of this study was to estimate the speed and direction of human Lyme disease emergence in Québec and to identify spatiotemporal risk patterns. A surface trend analysis was conducted to estimate the speed and direction of its emergence based upon the first detected case of Lyme disease in each municipality in Québec since 2004. A cluster analysis was also conducted to identify at-risk regions across space and time. These analyses were reproduced for the date of disease onset and date of notification for each case of Lyme disease. It was estimated that Lyme disease is spreading northward in Québec at a speed varying between 18 and 32 km/year according to the date of notification and the date of disease onset, respectively. A significantly high risk of disease was found in seven clusters identified in the south-west of Québec in the sociosanitary regions of Montérégie and Estrie. The results obtained in this study improve our understanding of the spatiotemporal patterns of Lyme disease in Québec, which can be used for proactive, targeted interventions by public and clinical health authorities.

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Effect of Rising Temperature on Lyme Disease: Ixodes scapularis Population Dynamics and Borrelia burgdorferi Transmission and Prevalence

Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology ◽

10.1155/2019/9817930 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dorothy Wallace ◽

Vardayani Ratti ◽

Anita Kodali ◽

Jonathan M. Winter ◽

Matthew P. Ayres ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Risk Measures ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Field Studies ◽

Mean Annual Temperature ◽

Increased Risk

Warmer temperatures are expected to increase the incidence of Lyme disease through enhanced tick maturation rates and a longer season of transmission. In addition, there could be an increased risk of disease export because of infected mobile hosts, usually birds. A temperature-driven seasonal model of Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease) transmission among four host types is constructed as a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The model is developed and parametrized based on a collection of lab and field studies. The model is shown to produce biologically reasonable results for both the tick vector (Ixodes scapularis) and the hosts when compared to a different set of studies. The model is used to predict the response of Lyme disease risk to a mean annual temperature increase, based on current temperature cycles in Hanover, NH. Many of the risk measures suggested by the literature are shown to change with increased mean annual temperature. The most straightforward measure of disease risk is the abundance of infected questing ticks, averaged over a year. Compared to this measure, which is difficult and resource-intensive to track in the field, all other risk measures considered underestimate the rise of risk with rise in mean annual temperature. The measure coming closest was “degree days above zero.” Disease prevalence in ticks and hosts showed less increase with rising temperature. Single field measurements at the height of transmission season did not show much change at all with rising temperature.

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Amplifying Role of Edible Dormice in Lyme Disease Transmission in Central Europe

The Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/infdis/170.1.122 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 170 (1) ◽

pp. 122-127 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

F.-R. Matuschka ◽

H. Eiffert ◽

A. Ohlenbusch ◽

A. Spielman

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Central Europe ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Edible Dormice

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Biodiversity and disease: a synthesis of ecological perspectives on Lyme disease transmission

Trends in Ecology & Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.tree.2012.10.011 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 239-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 130

Author(s):

Chelsea L. Wood ◽

Kevin D. Lafferty

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Disease Transmission

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

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.01846-10 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 77 (16) ◽

pp. 5716-5721 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

M. Marsot ◽

M. Sigaud ◽

J. L. Chapuis ◽

E. Ferquel ◽

M. Cornet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lyme Disease ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽

Introduced Species ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Reservoir Host ◽

Myodes Glareolus ◽

Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato ◽

New Host ◽

Content Type ◽

Tamias Sibiricus

ABSTRACTLittle attention has been given in scientific literature to how introduced species may act as a new host for native infectious agents and modify the epidemiology of a disease. In this study, we investigated whether an introduced species, the Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus barberi), was a potentially new reservoir host forBorrelia burgdorferisensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme disease. First, we ascertained whether chipmunks were infected by all of theB. burgdorferisensu lato genospecies associated with rodents and available in their source of infection, questing nymphs. Second, we determined whether the prevalence and diversity ofB. burgdorferisensu lato in chipmunks were similar to those of a native reservoir rodent, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Our research took place between 2006 and 2008 in a suburban French forest, where we trapped 335 chipmunks and 671 voles and collected 743 nymphs of ticks that were questing for hosts by dragging on the vegetation. We assayed forB. burgdorferisensu lato with ear biopsy specimens taken from the rodents and in nymphs using PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Chipmunks were infected by the threeBorreliagenospecies that were present in questing nymphs and that infect rodents (B. burgdorferisensu stricto,B. afzelii, andB. garinii). In contrast, voles hosted onlyB. afzelii. Furthermore, chipmunks were more infected (35%) than voles (16%). These results may be explained by the higher exposure of chipmunks, because they harbor more ticks, or by their higher tolerance of otherB. burgdorferisensu lato genospecies than ofB. afzelii. If chipmunks are competent reservoir hosts forB. burgdorferisensu lato, they may spill backB. burgdorferisensu lato to native communities and eventually may increase the risk of Lyme disease transmission to humans.

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Mice Against Ticks: an experimental community-guided effort to prevent tick-borne disease by altering the shared environment

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2018.0105 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 374 (1772) ◽

pp. 20180105 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Joanna Buchthal ◽

Sam Weiss Evans ◽

Jeantine Lunshof ◽

Sam R. Telford ◽

Kevin M. Esvelt

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Technology Development ◽

Ecological Engineering ◽

Shared Environment ◽

Gene Drive ◽

Community Members ◽

Engineering Project ◽

Mouse Population ◽

Transmission Cycle ◽

Tick Borne Disease

Mice Against Ticks is a community-guided ecological engineering project that aims to prevent tick-borne disease by using CRISPR-based genome editing to heritably immunize the white-footed mice ( Peromyscus leucopus ) responsible for infecting many ticks in eastern North America. Introducing antibody-encoding resistance alleles into the local mouse population is anticipated to disrupt the disease transmission cycle for decades. Technology development is shaped by engagement with community members and visitors to the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, including decisions at project inception about which types of disease resistance to pursue. This engagement process has prompted the researchers to use only white-footed mouse DNA if possible, meaning the current project will not involve gene drive. Instead, engineered mice would be released in the spring when the natural population is low, a plan unlikely to increase total numbers above the normal maximum in autumn. Community members are continually asked to share their suggestions and concerns, a process that has already identified potential ecological consequences unanticipated by the research team that will likely affect implementation. As an early example of CRISPR-based ecological engineering, Mice Against Ticks aims to start small and simple by working with island communities whose mouse populations can be lastingly immunized without gene drive. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The ecology and evolution of prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems’.

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