| borrelia miyamotoi and co-infection with borrelia afzelii in ixodes ricinus ticks and rodents from slovakia. | borrelia miyamotoi causes relapsing fever in humans. the occurrence of this spirochete has been reported in ixodes ricinus and wildlife, but there are still gaps in the knowledge of its eco-epidemiology and public health impact. in the current study, questing i. ricinus (nymphs and adults) and skin biopsies from rodents captured in slovakia were screened for the presence of b. miyamotoi and borrelia burgdorferi s.l. dna. the prevalence of b. miyamotoi and b. burgdorferi s.l. in questing ticks wa ... | 2017 | 27995301 |
| borrelia miyamotoi infections among wild rodents show age and month independence and correlation with ixodes persulcatus larval attachment in hokkaido, japan. | to clarify how borrelia miyamotoi is maintained in the environment in hokkaido, we examined ixodes persulcatus for its prevalence among wild rodents and its tick vector by detecting a portion of the borrelial flab gene in rodent urinary bladder and blood samples, and from whole ticks. we compared b. miyamotoi infection rates to borrelia garinii and borrelia afzelii, which are human lyme disease pathogens also carried by wild rodents, and which are transmitted by the same vector tick. whereas b. ... | 2013 | 23210636 |
| tick thioester-containing proteins and phagocytosis do not affect transmission of borrelia afzelii from the competent vector ixodes ricinus. | the present concept of the transmission of lyme disease from borrelia-infected ixodes sp. ticks to the naïve host assumes that a low number of spirochetes that manage to penetrate the midgut epithelium migrate through the hemocoel to the salivary glands and subsequently infect the host with the aid of immunomodulatory compounds present in tick saliva. therefore, humoral and/or cellular immune reactions within the tick hemocoel may play an important role in tick competence to act as a vector for ... | 2017 | 28361038 |
| evolution of antigenic diversity in the tick-transmitted bacterium borrelia afzelii a role for host specialization? | antigenic diversity in pathogenic microbes can be a result of at least three different processes: diversifying selection by acquired immunity, host-pathogen coevolution, and/or host specialization. here, we investigate if host specialization drives diversity at ospc (which encodes an immunodominant surface protein) in the tick-transmitted bacterium borrelia afzelii. we determined prevalence and infection intensity of ospc strains in naturally infected wild mammals (rodents and shrews) by 454 amp ... | 2017 | 28345277 |
| comparison of mkp and bsk-h media for the cultivation and isolation of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. | the isolation of b. burgdorferi sensu lato requires the use of complex cultivation media. the aim of the study was to compare the usefulness of bsk-h (a commercial medium produced by himedia, india) and mkp medium. mkp and bsk-h media were prepared in accordance with the relevant protocols. borrelia strains and skin culture biopsies were simultaneously inoculated into both media, incubated and checked for growth. borrelial growth characteristics, isolation rates and characteristics of the isolat ... | 2017 | 28170447 |
| induction of apoptosis in normal human dermal fibroblasts infected with borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. | the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi s.l. can enter into different eukaryotic cells. intracellular localization of bacteria may cause many changes in different cell pathways like apoptosis-mediated caspase cascade. the present studies focused on gene expression associated with caspase cascade after normal human dermal fibroblasts (nhdf) infection with borrelia garinii, borrelia afzelii, and b. burgdorferi s.s. the use of oligonucleotide microarray technique enabled an expression level comparison ... | 2017 | 28068192 |
| enzootic origins for clinical manifestations of lyme borreliosis. | both early localized and late disseminated forms of lyme borreliosis are caused by borrelia burgdorferi senso lato. differentiating between the spirochetes that only cause localized skin infection from those that cause disseminated infection, and tracing the group of medically-important spirochetes to a specific vertebrate host species, are two critical issues in disease risk assessment and management. borrelia burgdorferi senso lato isolates from lyme borreliosis cases with distinct clinical ma ... | 2017 | 28040562 |
| lyme borreliosis. | lyme borreliosis is a tick-borne disease that predominantly occurs in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere and is primarily caused by the bacterium borrelia burgdorferi in north america and borrelia afzelii or borrelia garinii in europe and asia. infection usually begins with an expanding skin lesion, known as erythema migrans (referred to as stage 1), which, if untreated, can be followed by early disseminated infection, particularly neurological abnormalities (stage 2), and by late infe ... | 2016 | 27976670 |
| acarological risk of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infections across space and time in the netherlands. | a longitudinal investigation on tick populations and their borrelia infections in the netherlands was undertaken between 2006 and 2011 with the aim to assess spatial and temporal patterns of the acarological risk in forested sites across the country and to assess variations in borrelia genospecies diversity. ticks were collected monthly in 11 sites and nymphs were examined for borrelia infections. tick populations expressed strong seasonal variations, with consistent and significant differences ... | 2017 | 27893309 |
| clinical and serological one-year follow-up of patients after the bite of ixodes ricinus ticks infected with borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. | the risk of developing lyme borreliosis (lb) after the bite of a borrelia (b.) burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) infected tick in romania is unknown. | 2017 | 27866446 |
| multistrain infections with lyme borreliosis pathogens in the tick vector. | mixed or multiple-strain infections are common in vector-borne diseases and have important implications for the epidemiology of these pathogens. previous studies have mainly focused on interactions between pathogen strains in the vertebrate host, but little is known about what happens in the arthropod vector. borrelia afzelii and borrelia garinii are two species of spirochete bacteria that cause lyme borreliosis in europe and that share a tick vector, ixodes ricinus each of these two tick-borne ... | 2017 | 27836839 |
| a borrelia afzelii infection increases larval tick burden on myodes glareolus (rodentia: cricetidae) and nymphal body weight of ixodes ricinus (acari: ixodidae). | several microorganisms have been shown to manipulate their host or vector to enhance their own transmission. here we examined whether an infection with borrelia afzelii affects its transmission between its bank vole (myodes glareolus, schreber, 1780) host and tick vector. captive-bred bank voles were inoculated with b. afzelii or control medium, after which host preference of ixodes ricinus l. nymphs was determined in a y-tube olfactometer. thereafter, infected and uninfected bank voles were pla ... | 2016 | 27694145 |
| the occurrence of ixodes ricinus ticks and important tick-borne pathogens in areas with high tick-borne encephalitis prevalence in different altitudinal levels of the czech republic part ii. ixodes ricinus ticks and genospecies of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. | three years long research study (2011-2013) on population density of ixodes ricinus and the infection rate of the pathogens that they transmit was conducted in four topographically distant areas in the czech republic. in the previous decade (2001-2010) thirteen loci with increased incidence of tick borne encephalitis cases were defined, suggesting the permanent interaction of human population with ticks and indicating the landmarks for study of the presence of other tick borne pathogens. the wor ... | 2016 | 27690476 |
| expression profiles of toll-like receptors in the differentiation of an infection with borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes. | the similarity of lyme borreliosis to other diseases and its complex pathogenesis present diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. the changes that occur at the cellular and molecular levels after a borrelia sp. infection still remain poorly understood. therefore, the present study focused on the expression of tlr and tlr-signaling genes in human dermal fibroblasts in the differentiation of an infection with borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes. normal human dermal fibroblasts were cultur ... | 2017 | 27604757 |
| pre-exposure prophylaxis with ospa-specific human monoclonal antibodies protects mice against tick transmission of lyme disease spirochetes. | tick transmission of borrelia spirochetes to humans results in significant morbidity from lyme disease worldwide. serum concentrations of antibodies against outer surface protein a (ospa) were shown to correlate with protection from infection with borrelia burgdorferi, the primary cause of lyme disease in the united states. | 2016 | 27338767 |
| diversifying forest communities may change lyme disease risk: extra dimension to the dilution effect in europe. | lyme disease is caused by bacteria of the borrelia burgdorferi genospecies complex and transmitted by ixodid ticks. in north america only one pathogenic genospecies occurs, in europe there are several. according to the dilution effect hypothesis (deh), formulated in north america, nymphal infection prevalence (nip) decreases with increasing host diversity since host species differ in transmission potential. we analysed borrelia infection in nymphs from 94 forest stands in belgium, which are part ... | 2016 | 27173094 |
| imbalanced presence of borrelia burgdorferi s.l. multilocus sequence types in clinical manifestations of lyme borreliosis. | in this study we used typing based on the eight multilocus sequence typing scheme housekeeping genes (mlst) and 5s-23s rdna intergenic spacer (igs) to explore the population structure of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates from patients with lyme borreliosis (lb) and to test the association between the b. burgdorferi s.l. sequence types (st) and the clinical manifestations they cause in humans. isolates of b. burgdorferi from 183 lb cases across europe, with distinct clinical manifestations ... | 2016 | 27125686 |
| cordoniform morphea: a clinicopathologic study of two cases presenting with the rope sign. | morphea clinically presenting as cordoniform lesions has not been described previously in the literature. | 2016 | 26990496 |
| sensitivity of lyme borreliosis spirochetes to serum complement of regular zoo animals: potential reservoir competence of some exotic vertebrates. | reaction of vertebrate serum complement with different borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species is used as a basis in determining reservoir hosts among domesticated and wild animals. borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, borrelia garinii, and borrelia afzelii were tested for their sensitivity to sera of exotic vertebrate species housed in five zoos located in the czech republic. we confirmed that different borrelia species have different sensitivity to host serum. we found that tolerance to borreli ... | 2016 | 26783940 |
| natural foci of borrelia lusitaniae in a mountain region of central europe. | lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in europe. it is caused by spirochaetes of the borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex and transmitted to humans by ticks of the genus ixodes. borrelia afzelii, borrelia garinii, and borrelia valaisiana are the most common genospecies in central europe. in contrast, borrelia lusitaniae predominates in mediterranean countries such as portugal, morocco, and tunisia. in slovakia, its prevalence is low and restricted to only a few site ... | 2016 | 26711673 |
| occurrence of borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in different genera of mosquitoes (culicidae) in central europe. | lyme disease or lyme borreliosis is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by spirochetes of the borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. some stages of the borrelial transmission cycle in ticks (transstadial, feeding and co-feeding) can potentially occur also in insects, particularly in mosquitoes. in the present study, adult as well as larval mosquitoes were collected at 42 different geographical locations throughout germany. this is the first study, in which german mosquitoes were analyzed ... | 2016 | 26631488 |
| strain-specific antibodies reduce co-feeding transmission of the lyme disease pathogen, borrelia afzelii. | vector-borne pathogens use a diversity of strategies to evade the vertebrate immune system. co-feeding transmission is a potential immune evasion strategy because the vector-borne pathogen minimizes the time spent in the vertebrate host. we tested whether the lyme disease pathogen, borrelia afzelii, can use co-feeding transmission to escape the acquired immune response in the vertebrate host. we induced a strain-specific, protective antibody response by immunizing mice with one of two variants o ... | 2016 | 26411486 |
| cross-reactive acquired immunity influences transmission success of the lyme disease pathogen, borrelia afzelii. | cross-reactive acquired immunity in the vertebrate host induces indirect competition between strains of a given pathogen species and is critical for understanding the ecology of mixed infections. in vector-borne diseases, cross-reactive antibodies can reduce pathogen transmission at the vector-to-host and the host-to-vector lifecycle transition. the highly polymorphic, immunodominant, outer surface protein c (ospc) of the tick-borne spirochete bacterium borrelia afzelii induces a strong antibody ... | 2015 | 26384476 |
| borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and borrelia afzelii: population structure and differential pathogenicity. | multilocus sequence typing (mlst) is considered a powerful method to unveil relationships within bacterial populations and it constitutes an economical and fast alternative to whole genome sequencing. we used this method to understand whether there are differences in human pathogenicity within and between different borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species. therefore, 136 strains from human patients or ticks from europe were included in mlst analyses. the scheme employed used eight chromosomally l ... | 2015 | 26341331 |
| borrelial lymphocytoma in children. | the aim of this study was to investigate demographic features, clinical characteristics, laboratory findings and posttreatment course of the disease in children with borrelial lymphocytoma (bl). | 2015 | 26313568 |
| biofilm formation by borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. | bacterial biofilms are microbial communities held together by an extracellular polymeric substance matrix predominantly composed of polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids. we had previously shown that borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the causative organism of lyme disease in the united states is capable of forming biofilms in vitro. here, we investigated biofilm formation by b. afzelii and b. garinii, which cause lyme disease in europe. using various histochemistry and microscopy techniq ... | 2015 | 26208529 |
| borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-infected ixodes ricinus collected from vegetation near the arctic circle. | this is the first study to determine the density of questing ixodes ricinus in northern norway. it was performed at two sites in brønnøy, which has been known for its tick permissive habitats for decades and is one of the northernmost habitats with an abundant i. ricinus population in the world. from april to november 2011, all stages of host-seeking i. ricinus were collected from the two sites. the overall prevalence of nymphs infected with borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was 21% and that of ad ... | 2015 | 26187417 |
| histopathology and immunophenotype of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans correlated with ospa and ospc genotypes of borrelia species. | chronic cutaneous borreliosis (acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans, aca) is a relatively rare manifestation of borreliosis attributed mainly to borrelia afzelii. chronic borreliosis has been associated with ospa and ospc genotypes. literature on molecular investigations of borrelia in lesions of aca is scant. | 2015 | 26156537 |
| infection of siberian chipmunks (tamias sibiricus barberi) with borrelia sp. reveals a low reservoir competence under experimental conditions. | reservoir competence is a key parameter in understanding the role of host species in the epidemiology of multi-host-especially vector-borne-pathogens. with this aim in view, we studied the reservoir competence of the siberian chipmunk (tamias sibiricus barberi) recently introduced into europe, for the multi-host tick-borne bacteria, borrelia burgdorferi sl, the agent of lyme borreliosis. t. sibiricus were experimentally exposed to bites from ixodes ricinus ticks infected with borrelia burgdorfer ... | 2015 | 25805623 |
| an investigation of binding ability of ixodes persulcatus schulze salp15 with lyme disease spirochetes. | salp15, a 15-kda tick salivary gland protein, has several suppressive modes of activity against host immunity and plays a critical role in the transmission of lyme disease spirochetes in ixodes scapularis and ixodes ricinus, major vectors of lyme disease in north america and western europe. salp15 adheres to borrelia burgdorferi and specifically interacts with its outer surface protein c (ospc), protecting the spirochete from antibody-mediated cytotoxicity and facilitating infection in the mice. ... | 2015 | 25796479 |
| molecular detection of rickettsia, borrelia, and babesia species in ixodes ricinus sampled in northeastern, central, and insular areas of italy. | the aim of the present study was to provide insight into the diversity of tick-borne pathogens circulating in italy, carried/transmitted by ixodes ricinus, one of the most abundant tick species in the country. a total of 447 specimens sampled in five areas of northeastern, central and insular italy were analysed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing for the presence of rickettsiae, borreliae and babesiae. several rickettsial species of the spotted fever group of zoonotic concern and other ... | 2015 | 25784072 |
| rapid outer-surface protein c dna tattoo vaccination protects against borrelia afzelii infection. | borrelia afzelii is the predominant borrelia species causing lyme borreliosis in europe. currently there is no human vaccine against lyme borreliosis, and most research focuses on recombinant protein vaccines against borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. dna tattooing is a novel vaccination method that can be applied in a rapid vaccination schedule. we vaccinated c3h/hen mice with b. afzelii strain pko ospc (outer-surface protein c) using a codon-optimized dna vaccine tattoo and compared this with ... | 2014 | 25273355 |
| first detection of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato dna in serum of the wild boar (sus scrofa) in northern portugal by nested-pcr. | lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne zoonosis in the northern hemisphere. several vertebrates are crucial in the epidemiological cycle of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, but the role of wild boar as a reservoir is still unknown. sera were collected from 90 wild boars shot in the trás-os-montes region, northern portugal (hunting season 2011/2012). in this study, borrelia dna was detected for the first time by nested-pcr in three different sera, suggesting that the wild boar may be a po ... | 2015 | 25231138 |
| co-infection with 'candidatus neoehrlichia mikurensis' and borrelia afzelii in an ixodes ricinus tick that has bitten a human in romania. | despite the vast importance of ticks as disease vectors, the infectious agents transmitted by ticks are still incompletely known in many areas. here, we report for the first time the detection of the bacterium 'candidatus neoehrlichia mikurensis' in romania, in an ixodes ricinus tick obtained from a human. furthermore, the tick also had a co-infection with borrelia afzelii. 'candidatus neoehrlichia mikurensis' is one of the most recent discoveries of a tick-borne agent, and has been found in hum ... | 2014 | 25127158 |
| defensin from the ornate sheep tick dermacentor marginatus and its effect on lyme borreliosis spirochetes. | expression of the previously reported defensin of the tick dermacentor marginatus (defdm) was analysed in different organs by rt-pcr. mrna of the defdm gene was detected in the hemolymph, midgut and salivary glands. moreover defdm was isolated from the tick hemolymph using rp-hplc and its sequence was determined by mass spectrometry and edman degradation. synthetic peptide was used for determining biological activities. the results showed an anti-gram-positive bacterial role for the defensin. as ... | 2014 | 24747431 |
| [a case of lyme neuroborreliosis coexistent with t-cell lymphoma]. | an 80-year-old japanese man developed sensory disturbance of his extremities. one week after the onset of sensory disturbance, he also developed bilateral facial nerve palsy, weakness of the extremities, vesicorectal disturbance, general fatigue, and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (siadh). his symptoms worsened gradually. despite the absence of apparent tick bite and characteristic skin lesions, we suspected lyme neuroborreliosis (lnb) because of pleocytosis and elevate ... | 2014 | 24583590 |
| lyme borreliosis caused by diverse genospecies of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in northeastern china. | the variety of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (b. burgdorferi) genospecies leads to distinction in clinical manifestations of lyme borreliosis (lb). there are reports of lb clinical characteristics in china, where the b. burgdorferi genospecies in ticks and animal hosts are different from those in europe and north america. during may to september in 2010 and 2011, all patients who had erythema migrans (em, more than 5 cm in diameter) after a recent tick-bite, and sought medical care at mudanjia ... | 2014 | 24438159 |
| seroprevalence of campylobacteriosis and relevant post-infectious sequelae. | post-infectious sequelea such as guillain barré syndrome (gbs), reactive arthritis (ra), and inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) may arise as a consequence of acute campylobacter-enteritis (ae). however, reliable seroprevalence data of campylobacter-associated sequelae has not been established. the objectives of this study were, first, to identify the most specific and sensitive test antigen in an optimized elisa assay for diagnosing a previous campylobacter-infection and, second, to compare the pr ... | 2014 | 24413899 |
| host response to borrelia afzelii in balb/c mice tested by immunoblotting. | the aim was to find if there is variability in the production of specific antibodies by balb/c mice to certain antigens of three individual borrelia afzelii (dead cell suspension) strains originally isolated from different sources. analysis of the borrelian proteins immunogenicity was performed and determined to particular strains by immunoblotting. some differences in production of specific igm and igg antibodies in each individual group of tested mice were found. the antigenic influence of osp ... | 2013 | 24364462 |
| multiple-strain infections of borrelia afzelii: a role for within-host interactions in the maintenance of antigenic diversity? | genetically diverse infections are common but little is known about what effects coinfecting strains have on each other in natural host-parasite systems. to explore the nature and consequences of interactions in the wild, we studied the tick-transmitted bacterium borrelia afzelii in one of its main reservoir hosts, the bank vole myodes glareolus. we measured overall infection intensity with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (pcr) and resolved the composition of multiple infections using str ... | 2013 | 23535618 |
| molecular evidence of ehrlichia canis and rickettsia massiliae in ixodid ticks of carnivores from south hungary. | to monitor the emergence of thermophilic, mediterranean ixodid tick species and tick-borne pathogens in southern hungary, 348 ticks were collected from shepherd dogs, red foxes and golden jackals during the summer of 2011. golden jackals shared tick species with both the dog and the red fox in the region. dermacentor nymphs were collected exclusively from dogs, and the sequence identification of these ticks indicated that dogs are preferred hosts of both d. reticulatus and d. marginatus nymphs, ... | 2013 | 23439290 |
| a study of the technique of western blot for diagnosis of lyme disease caused by borrelia afzelii in china. | to study the technique of western blot for the diagnosis of lyme disease caused by borrelia afzelii in china and to establish the standard criteria by operational procedure. | 2013 | 23425802 |
| differential tick burdens may explain differential borrelia afzelii and borrelia garinii infection rates among four, wild, rodent species in hokkaido, japan. | the ecologies of lyme disease borrelia spp. are very specific to location, as they are dependent upon the spirochete species and genotypes, the vectors and the host vertebrates present. in hokkaido, japan, where two human pathogenic, lyme disease borrelia spp. are present, and human cases are reported annually, the ecologies have been poorly studied. our goal was to determine whether variation in borrelial infection rates among rodent species sharing an environment, is due to immunological or ec ... | 2013 | 23391510 |
| spatial spread and demographic expansion of lyme borreliosis spirochaetes in eurasia. | the lyme borreliosis (lb) group of spirochaetes currently comprises 18 named species that vary in their geographic distribution, host specificity and ability to cause disease in humans. in europe three species are most abundant, borrelia afzelii, borrelia garinii and borrelia valaisiana but only two of these (b. garinii and b. afzelii) are regularly found in asia as well. a recently published study has shown that borrelia species associated with birds, such as b. garinii, showed limited geograph ... | 2013 | 23219915 |
| development of real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in china. | universal primers and probes were selected on the basis of the 16s rrna gene sequence of borrelia burgdorferi in genbank®, and a real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) method for detection of b. burgdorferi was established. the results showed that this method could specifically detect the b31 strain (borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto), the bo23 strain (borrelia afzelii), and the sz strain (borrelia garinii), without cross-reaction with genome dna of theileria (t. luwenshuni, t. uilenbergi, t ... | 2012 | 22448677 |
| detection of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in endomyocardial biopsy specimens in individuals with recent-onset dilated cardiomyopathy. | recent studies in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (dcm) have detected the genome of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (bbsl) in endomyocardial biopsy (emb) specimens using a qualitative polymerase chain reaction (pcr), suggesting a causal link between lyme disease and dcm in areas in which lyme disease is endemic. we aimed to study this relationship using a comprehensive molecular analysis detecting bbsl in emb samples. | 2012 | 22379178 |
| [borrelia burgdorferi genostrains detected in the silesian voivodeship in years 2010-2012]. | the aim of this study was to analyze borrelia burgdorferi genostrains appearing in the silesian voivodeship in years 2010-2011 and the first half of 2012. material and methods. the analysis was conducted on blood samples of persons bitten by ticks and ticks provided to the provincial sanitary epidemiological station in katowice from patients. the material was examined under the angle of three genostrains of borrelia burgdorferi: borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, borrelia afzelii and borrelia g ... | 2012 | 23484385 |
| the abundance of the lyme disease pathogen borrelia afzelii declines over time in the tick vector ixodes ricinus. | the population dynamics of vector-borne pathogens inside the arthropod vector can have important consequences for vector-to-host transmission. tick-borne spirochete bacteria of the borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) species complex cause lyme borreliosis in humans and spend long periods of time (>12 months) in their ixodes tick vectors. to date, few studies have investigated the dynamics of borrelia spirochete populations in unfed ixodes nymphal ticks. | 2017 | 28545520 |
| fitness estimates from experimental infections predict the long-term strain structure of a vector-borne pathogen in the field. | the populations of many pathogen species consist of a collection of common and rare strains but the factors underlying this strain-specific variation in frequency are often unknown. understanding frequency variation among strains is particularly challenging for vector-borne pathogens where the strain-specific fitness depends on the performance in both the vertebrate host and the arthropod vector. two sympatric multiple-strain tick-borne pathogens, borrelia afzelii and b. garinii, that use the sa ... | 2017 | 28500292 |
| a foot tumor as late cutaneous lyme borreliosis: a new entity? | acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (aca) is the late cutaneous form of lyme borreliosis. it is a rare tertiary manifestation characterized by a slowly progressive course over many weeks to months. the early inflammatory phase manifests with a bluish-red discoloration and doughy swelling of the skin. atrophic phase represents a late-phase process with red discoloration, thin and wrinkled appearance to the skin. we present a patient who exhibited a previously non-described form of late cutaneous ... | 2017 | 28477365 |
| approaches for reverse line blot-based detection of microbial pathogens in ixodes ricinus ticks collected in austria and impact of the chosen method. | ticks transmit a large number of pathogens capable of causing human disease. in this study, the pcr-reverse line blot (rlb) method was used to screen for pathogens in a total of 554 ixodes ricinus ticks collected from all provinces of austria. these pathogens belong to the genera borrelia, rickettsiae, anaplasma/ehrlichia (including "candidatus neoehrlichia"), babesia, and coxiella the pathogens with the highest detected prevalence were spirochetes of the borrelia burgdorferisensu lato complex, ... | 2017 | 28455331 |
| borrelia species detected in ticks feeding on wild korean water deer (hydropotes inermis) using molecular and genotypic analyses. | lyme borreliosis is a vector-borne disease transmitted through the bite of ticks infected by borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, including b. burgdorferi sensu stricto, b. afzelii, and b. garinii. the goal of the present study was to detect borrelia species in ticks infesting wild korean water deer (kwd; hydropotes inermis swinhoe), using molecular and genotypic analyses. in total, 48 ticks were collected from kwd, all of which were morphologically identified as haemaphysalis longicornis neum ... | 2017 | 28549151 |
| borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in ixodes longiscutatus ticks from brazilian pampa. | borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex includes the agents of lyme disease/borreliosis in north america, europe, and asia, such borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, borrelia afzelii, borrelia garinii, borrelia bavariensis, borrelia spielmanii, borrelia bissettiae, and borrelia mayonii. in 2013 b. burgdorferi s.l. was reported for the first time in the neotropical region, from ixodes aragaoi ticks in uruguayan pampa. in addition, from 2011 to 2016, 17 suspected human cases of borreliosis-l ... | 2017 | 28847698 |
| two mice models for transferability of zoonotic bacteria via tick vector. | spotted fever and typhus-related diseases caused by rickettsiae, lyme borreliosis induced by spirochetes from borrelia burgdorferii sensu lato complex, and q fever evoked by coxiella burnetii, are important zoonoses occurring worldwide. in order to study the pathogenesis of these infections, the efficacy of vaccines from the perspective of protection against the pathogens, pathogen - pathogen interactions during co-infections or pathogen-vector-host interrelationship, a suitable animal model sho ... | 2017 | 28854805 |
| modeling the effects of variable feeding patterns of larval ticks on the transmission of borrelia lusitaniae and borrelia afzelii. | spirochetes belonging to the borrelia burgdoferi sensu lato (sl) group cause lyme borreliosis (lb), which is the most commonly reported vector-borne zoonosis in europe. b. burgdorferi sl is maintained in nature in a complex cycle involving ixodes ricinus ticks and several species of vertebrate hosts. the transmission dynamics of b. burgdorferi sl is complicated by the varying competence of animals for different genospecies of spirochetes that, in turn, vary in their capability of causing disease ... | 2017 | 28690096 |
| ticks infected via co-feeding transmission can transmit lyme borreliosis to vertebrate hosts. | vector-borne pathogens establish systemic infections in host tissues to maximize transmission to arthropod vectors. co-feeding transmission occurs when the pathogen is transferred between infected and naive vectors that feed in close spatiotemporal proximity on a host that has not yet developed a systemic infection. borrelia afzelii is a tick-borne spirochete bacterium that causes lyme borreliosis (lb) and is capable of co-feeding transmission. whether ticks that acquire lb pathogens via co-feed ... | 2017 | 28694446 |
| infection intensity and infectivity of the tick-borne pathogen borrelia afzelii. | the 'trade-off' hypothesis for virulence evolution assumes that between-host transmission rate is a positive and saturating function of pathogen exploitation and virulence, but there are as yet few tests of this assumption, in particular for vector-borne pathogens. here, i show that the infectivity (probability of transmission) of the tick-borne bacterium borrelia afzelii from two of its natural rodent hosts (bank vole and yellow-necked mouse) to its main tick vector increases asymptotically wit ... | 2012 | 22536945 |
| expression of genes associated with h factor in fibroblasts infected with borrelia spirochaetes. | infection with borrelia spirochaetes leads to the launch of specific and non-specific immunological response in humans. activation of the complement system is one of the first defence mechanisms against penetrating pathogens. the aim of this study was to select genes related to the alternative pathway of the complement system [including complement factor h (cfh)], differentiating the type of infection in the system model, that is, a culture of normal human diploid fibroblasts infected with three ... | 2012 | 22686626 |
| effect of tick saliva on signalling pathways activated by tlr-2 ligand and borrelia afzelii in dendritic cells. | dendritic cells are a sentinel in defending against pathogens and tick saliva facilitates transmission of tick-borne pathogens by modulating the host immune response. the maturation of dendritic cells is inhibited by tick saliva. to elucidate the mechanism of this inhibition, we tested the impact of ixodes ricinus tick saliva on signalling pathways activated by toll-like receptor (tlr-2) ligand and borrelia afzelii in spleen dendritic cells. the activation of nuclear factor-κb (nf-κb) p65 and ph ... | 2012 | 22709526 |
| co-infection of borrelia afzelii and bartonella spp. in bank voles from a suburban forest. | we report the molecular detection of borrelia afzelii (11%) and bartonella spp. (56%) in 447 bank voles trapped in a suburban forest in france. adult voles were infected by significantly more borrelia afzelii than juveniles (p<0.001), whereas no significant difference was detected in the prevalence of bartonella spp. between young and adult individuals (p=0.914). six percent of the animals were co-infected by both bacteria. analysis of the bank vole carrier status for either pathogen indicated t ... | 2012 | 22898354 |
| lyme endocarditis. | lyme borreliosis is a common tick-borne disease with a wide variety of clinical manifestations. cardiac involvement has been reported during both the acute phase (atrioventricular block, pericarditis) and the chronic stage (dilated cardiomyopathy), but is rare (<5%). here we describe the first case of borrelia afzelii lyme endocarditis, in a 61-year-old man living in an endemic area of france. the diagnosis was confirmed by detection of b. afzelii dna in the mitral valve by specific real-time pc ... | 2012 | 23043635 |
| prevalence of borrelia burgdorferi s. l. in ixodes ricinus ticks from four localities in bavaria, germany. | as a part of a larger survey a total of 599 ixodes ricinus ticks collected from four locations (neustadt an der waldnaab, amberg, poppenricht and lintach) in the north of the upper palatinate in bavaria were investigated for infection with borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.) species using the 5s-23s intergenic spacer of rrna gene as a target in a nested pcr (rijpkema et al., 1995) and a sequencing method. overall, 15.8% ticks were infected with b. burgdorferi s. i. borrelia afzelii (43.1%) w ... | 2012 | 23045802 |
| spatial stratification of various lyme disease spirochetes in a central european site. | to determine whether the genospecies composition of lyme disease spirochetes is spatially stratified, we collected questing ixodes ricinus ticks in neighboring plots where rodents, birds, and lizards were present as reservoir host and compared the prevalence of various genospecies. the overall prevalence of spirochetes in questing ticks varied across the study site. borrelia lusitaniae appeared to infect adult ticks in one plot at the same frequency as did borrelia afzelii in the other plots. th ... | 2013 | 23062207 |
| fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of dna from borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and ixodes ricinus ticks. | in this work we present a method for detection of motile and immotile borrelia burgdorferi genomic dna, in relation with infectious and noninfectious spirochetes. an ft-ir study of dna isolated from b. burgdorferi sensu lato strains and from positive and negative ixodes ricinus ticks, respectively, is reported. motile bacterial cells from the species b. burgdorferi sensu stricto, borrelia garinii and borrelia afzelii were of interest. also, ft-ir absorbance spectra of dna from immotile spirochet ... | 2013 | 23563637 |
| co-infection with 'candidatus neoehrlichia mikurensis' and borrelia afzelii in ixodes ricinus ticks in southern sweden. | the tick-borne bacterium 'candidatus neoehrlichia mikurensis' has recently been recognized as a human pathogen in europe and appears to be the second most common pathogenic bacterium in ixodes ricinus ticks in central europe, second to borrelia afzelii. here, we investigate the prevalence of 'candidatus n. mikurensis' in host-seeking ticks in southern sweden and the rate of co-infection with b. afzelii. we developed a real-time qpcr assay targeting the groel gene of 'candidatus n. mikurensis' an ... | 2013 | 23590321 |
| geodemographic analysis of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato using the 5s-23s rdna spacer region. | lyme borreliosis is the predominant tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere, with considerable heterogeneity in clinical manifestations. here, we evaluated one genetic marker for its use in population genetic based analysis. for that we collected molecular and epidemiological records of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates from ticks, animals and humans at various sites in the netherlands and worldwide. | 2013 | 23602839 |
| influence of mkp medium stored for prolonged periods on growth and morphology of borrelia afzelii, borrelia garinii, and borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. | modified kelly-pettenkofer (mkp) medium is one of the several media used for isolation and cultivation of borrelia. the aim of the study was to assess whether particular borrelia species (b. afzelii, b. garinii, and b. burgdorferi sensu stricto) have the ability to grow in mkp medium stored at +4 °c for periods for 1 month up to 1 year, and how prolonged storage may influences borrelia growth and morphology. the growth of borrelia was evaluated after 5 days of incubation at 33 °c: cell count per ... | 2014 | 23758221 |
| prevalence of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, borrelia afzelii, borrelia garinii, and borrelia valaisiana in ixodes ricinus ticks from the northwest of norway. | over a 3-y period, ixodes ricinus ticks were randomly collected to study the prevalence of 4 borrelia species: b. burgdorferi sensu stricto, b. afzelii, b. garinii and b. valaisiana. while b. burgdorferi s. s., b. afzelii, and b. garinii have been associated with human borreliosis in norway for several years, b. valaisiana was reported in a norwegian tick for the first time in 2010. | 2013 | 23808719 |
| the propensity of voles and mice to transmit borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection to feeding ticks. | lyme borreliosis (lb) caused by the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the most common tick-borne zoonosis in the northern hemisphere. b. burgdorferi s.l. can infect humans and wild and domestic animals. ixodes ricinus is the main vector, and small rodents are the most important mammalian reservoirs hosts of b. burgdorferi s.l. in europe. the prevalence of b. burgdorferi s.l. in i. ricinus ticks from captured rodents, calculated specific infectivities, and transmission coefficients we ... | 2013 | 23849517 |
| geographical distribution and prevalence of borrelia burgdorferi genospecies in questing ixodes ricinus from romania: a countrywide study. | the paper reports the prevalence and geographical distribution of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) and its genospecies in 12,221 questing ixodes ricinus ticks collected at 183 locations from all the 41 counties of romania. the unfed ticks were examined for the presence of b. burgdorferi s.l. by pcr targeting the intergenic spacer 5s-23s. reverse line blot hybridization (rlb) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis were performed for identification of b. burgdorferi gen ... | 2013 | 23890805 |
| rodent species as natural reservoirs of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in different habitats of ixodes ricinus in the netherlands. | rodents are natural reservoirs for human pathogenic spirochaetes of the borrelia burgdorferi complex [b. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.)], and the pathogens are transmitted by ixodes ricinus ticks to humans in the netherlands. b. burgdorferi s.l. infection prevalence in questing ticks, rodents, and ticks feeding on these rodents, all sampled within the same short time span of five days in three different areas in the netherlands, were compared in order to establish the relationship between ticks, ... | 2013 | 23891104 |
| molecular detection and genetic identification of borrelia garinii and borrelia afzelii from patients presenting with a rare skin manifestation of prurigo pigmentosa in taiwan. | to determine the genetic identity of borrelia spirochetes isolated from patients with an unusual skin lesion of prurigo pigmentosa (pp) in taiwan. the causative agents responsible for human borreliosis were clarified. | 2013 | 24103333 |
| songbirds as general transmitters but selective amplifiers of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genotypes in ixodes rinicus ticks. | we investigated to what extent a european songbird (parus major) selectively transmits and amplifies borrelia burgdorferi s.l. bacteria. borrelia-naïve birds were recurrently exposed to ixodes ricinus nymphs carrying a community of more than 34 5s-23s genotypes belonging to five genospecies (borrelia garinii, borrelia valaisiana, borrelia afzelii, b. burgdorferi s.s. and borrelia spielmanii). fed ticks were screened for borrelia after moulting. we found evidence for co-feeding transmission of av ... | 2014 | 24118930 |
| comparison of isolation rate of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in two different culture media, mkp and bsk-h. | the aim of the study was to evaluate two culture media for borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolation from a 5 × 2 × 2 mm skin biopsy that was dissected into two pieces and inoculated into modified kelly-pettenkofer (mkp) and barbour-stoenner-kelly-h (bsk-h) medium. samples were incubated at 33°c for up to 9 weeks. borrelia species was determined by mlui-restriction of whole genome or by msei-restriction of pcr product. we determined the proportion of isolation rate, 'slow-growers', contaminated ... | 2014 | 24237688 |
| antibodies to decorin-binding protein b (dbpb) in the diagnosis of lyme neuroborreliosis in children. | laboratory support is needed to confirm the clinical diagnosis of lyme neuroborreliosis (lnb). antibodies to borrelia-specific proteins have been used to improve serological diagnostics. the aims of this study were to assess the occurrence of antibodies to decorin-binding protein b (dbpb) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (csf) in children with lnb and to evaluate the performance of dbpb variants in the diagnosis of lnb in children. | 2014 | 25316329 |
| pilot study assessing the effectiveness of factory-treated, long-lasting permethrin-impregnated clothing for the prevention of tick bites during occupational tick exposure in highly infested military training areas, germany. | the protective effectiveness of factory-based permethrin-impregnated polymer-coated battle dress uniforms (ptbdus) against tick bites was evaluated at four military training areas in southwestern and central germany where tick bite incidence is known to be high. data were analyzed by comparing tick bite incidence using non-permethrin-treated bdus (ntbdus) during 2009 versus ptbdus during 2010 and 2011, the first two years after their formal introduction for in-country use in the german bundesweh ... | 2015 | 25416331 |
| genetic variation in transmission success of the lyme borreliosis pathogen borrelia afzelii. | the vector-to-host and host-to-vector transmission steps are the two critical events that define the life cycle of any vector-borne pathogen. we expect negative genetic correlations between these two transmission phenotypes, if parasite genotypes specialized at invading the vector are less effective at infecting the vertebrate host and vice versa. we used the tick-borne bacterium borrelia afzelii, a causative agent of lyme borreliosis in europe, to test whether genetic trade-offs exist between t ... | 2015 | 25748511 |
| bactericidal activity of octenidine to various genospecies of borrelia burgdorferi, sensu lato spirochetes in vitro and in vivo. | the aim of our studies was to invent a reliable method for detection of the bactericidal activity of disinfectants against borrelia burgdorferi in suspension (in vitro) and in cell line cultures (in vivo). in the suspension method, 0.01% octenidine at 20°c and 35°c was bactericidal to borrelia afzeli; borrelia garini, b. burgdorferi sensu stricto after 5 minutes treatment. increase of the temperature to 35°c speed up the bactericidal effect to 1 minute. the bactericidal action of octenidine towa ... | 2017 | 28735308 |