Publications

antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi in rodents in the eastern and southern united states.	serologic studies were conducted to determine whether white-footed mice (peromyscus leucopus) and cotton mice (peromyscus gossypinus) contained serum antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of lyme borreliosis. enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays detected antibodies to this spirochete in 35.7 and 27.3% of 56 p. leucopus and 535 p. gossypinus serum samples, respectively, collected in connecticut, north carolina, south carolina, georgia, florida, alabama, and mississippi. antibody t ...	1992	1624561
antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi in deer and raccoons.	an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) was developed to detect serum antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of lyme borreliosis, in deer (odocoileus virginianus) and raccoons (procyon lotor). blood samples were collected from these mammals in connecticut, maryland, north carolina, georgia and florida. seropositivity for deer was highest in connecticut (56% of 353 sera) and maryland (51% of 35 sera). raccoons in connecticut, maryland, north carolina, and florida also had an ...	1991	1758022
lyme disease surveillance--united states, 1989-1990.	surveillance for lyme disease (ld) was initiated by cdc in 1982 (1), and in january 1991, ld became nationally reportable (2). forty-six states reported cases in 1989 and 1990 (figure 1), but the occurrence in nature of the causative bacterium, borrelia burgdorferi, has not been documented in all of these states. from 1982 through 1989, the annual reported number of cases of ld increased 18-fold (from 497 to 8803, respectively) and from 1986 through 1989, nearly doubled each year (figure 2). the ...	1991	2046649
evaluation of ixodes scapularis, amblyomma americanum, and dermacentor variabilis (acari: ixodidae) from georgia as vectors of a florida strain of the lyme disease spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi.	the ability of three common tick species from georgia to maintain and transmit the causative agent of lyme disease, borrelia burgdorferi, was compared under laboratory conditions. a b. burgdorferi cotton rat isolate (mi-6) from florida was selected as a strain from the south, and the sh2-82 isolate from new york was used as a positive control. amblyomma americanum (l.) and dermacentor variabilis (say) did not transmit the mi-6 isolate from inoculated hamsters to naive laboratory mice, and nympha ...	1995	7650697
adjusting moran's i for population density.	i derive two new statistics, ipop and ipop*, that adjust moran's i to study clustering of disease cases in areas (for example, counties) with different, known population densities. a simulation of lyme disease in georgia suggests that these new statistics can be more powerful than those currently in use. this is because they consider both spatial pattern and non-binomial variance in rates as evidence supporting disease clusters.	1995	7701154
natural occurrence and characterization of the lyme disease spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi, in cotton rats (sigmodon hispidus) from georgia and florida.	this is the first report of natural infection by borrelia burgdorferi in the cotton rat sigmodon hispidus. nine b. burgdorferi isolates were obtained from ear tissues, urinary bladders, or both, by culturing tissues in bskii medium. the rat from which the si-3 isolate was cultured was from the same site (sapelo island, georgia) as an infected cotton mouse peromyscus gossypinus and ixodes scapularis tick reported previously. the 8 b. burgdorferi isolates from rats in florida included 1 (ai-1) fro ...	1995	7876974
isolation and transmission of the lyme disease spirochete from the southeastern united states.	the isolation of the lyme disease spirochete (borrelia burgdorferi) from the southeastern united states is reported. three isolates, two from cotton mice (peromyscus gossypinus) and one from the black-legged tick (ixodes scapularis), were recovered from sapelo island, georgia, in july and september 1991. the spirochetes were characterized by indirect fluorescent antibody assay using a battery of five monoclonal antibodies, by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (sds/page) o ...	1993	8346258
serologic survey for antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi in white-tailed deer in georgia.	a serologic survey for antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi utilizing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) was conducted on white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) serum samples collected in georgia (usa) from 1979 to 1990. serologic results from four regions (barrier islands, coastal plain, piedmont, and mountain) and three age classes (0.5, 1.5, and > or = 2.5 yr) were compared. antibody prevalence, as determined by positive results at a 1:64 dilution or higher, was 36% in the barrier ...	1993	8487372
multivariate morphometric discrimination of nymphal and adult forms of the blacklegged tick (acari: ixodidae), a principal vector of the agent of lyme disease in eastern north america.	a morphological study of postlarval stages of the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis say, was conducted to examine congruence between northern (formerly i. dammini spielman, clifford, piesman & corwin) and southern morphotypes. the character set totaled 17 for females, 25 for males, and 28 for nymphs. populations from 6 geographic areas, f1 progeny from reciprocal crosses between i. scapularis from massachusetts and georgia, and i. pacificus cooley & kohls from california were measured. charact ...	1995	8551506
nocturnal questing by adult blacklegged ticks, ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae).	quantitative tick drag samples were taken at various times during the day and night from february through april 1994 on st. catherines island or on sapelo island, georgia. for each month, there was no statistical difference between the numbers of adult blacklegged ticks, ixodes scapularis, collected during any hour of daylight or darkness on st. catherines island, adult i. scapularis also quested during both day and night on sapelo island, but on this island significantly more ticks were collect ...	1996	8627491
unusual strain of borrelia burgdorferi isolated from ixodes dentatus in central georgia.	a new, unusual spirochete was cultured in barbour-stoenner-kelly (bsk ii) medium from the midgut and other tissues of the tick ixodes dentatus. the tick was collected from leaf litter in an oak-pine wood lot in bibb county approximately 7.2 km from macon in central georgia during february 1993. characterization by indirect immunofluorescence using 5 murine monoclonal antibodies, by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of whole spirochetal lysates, and by polymerase chain rea ...	1996	8973402
ability of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi to infect rodents and three species of human-biting ticks (blacklegged tick, american dog tick, lone star tick) (acari:ixodidae).	the infectivity of a diverse collection of borrelia burgdorferi strains from north america for mice was determined as a prelude to vector competence experiments with the 3 primary human-biting tick species in the eastern united states (ixodes scapularis say, dermacentor variabilis (say), amblyomma americanum (l.)]. of the 34 b. burgdorferi strains inoculated into mice, 29 were infectious; the exceptions were 5 isolates from texas. vector competence experiments were conducted with 2 strains from ...	1997	9220680
ticks, lyme disease spirochetes, trypanosomes, and antibody to encephalitis viruses in wild birds from coastal georgia and south carolina.	ticks and blood samples were collected from wild birds mist-netted on st. catherine's island, georgia, and at the wedge plantation in coastal south carolina in 1994 and 1995. immature stages of 5 species of ixodid ticks were recovered from 10 of 148 (7%) birds belonging to 6 species in georgia, whereas 6 ixodid species were recovered from 45 of 259 (17%) birds representing 10 avian species in south carolina. borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was isolated from 27 of 120 (23%) screened ticks (ixodes ...	1997	9406799
attachment sites of four tick species (acari: ixodidae) parasitizing humans in georgia and south carolina.	from june 1995 through january 1998, 677 tick specimens were submitted by 521 humans from 14 states. analysis was limited to specimens originating in georgia and south carolina, representing 87.3% of total submissions. attachment sites were specified in 367 specimens (62.3%). the american dog tick, dermacentor variabilis (say), a vector of the agent of rocky mountain spotted fever, favored the head and neck in 59% of attached specimens. the lone star tick, amblyomma americanum (l.), a strongly i ...	1999	10337108
solitary erythema migrans in georgia and south carolina.	to evaluate the incidence of borrelia burgdorferi infection in humans with erythema migrans (em) in 2 southeastern states.	1999	10566829
tick infestations of birds in coastal georgia and alabama.	mist-netted birds were examined for ticks on jekyll island, glynn co., georgia (32 bird species) in 1996-1998, and at fort morgan, baldwin co., alabama (36 species) in 1998 during fall migration. sixty-two (14.7%) of 423 birds from jekyll island and 22 (13.3%) of 165 birds from fort morgan were infested with ticks. the mean number of ticks per infested bird was 2.0 on jekyll island and 6.3 at fort morgan. ten species of birds were infested with ticks on jekyl1 island where 87% of all ticks were ...	2000	10780541
genetic heterogeneity of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the southern united states based on restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis.	fifty-six strains of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, isolated from ticks and vertebrate animals in missouri, south carolina, georgia, florida, and texas, were identified and characterized by pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis of rrf (5s)-rrl (23s) intergenic spacer amplicons. a total of 241 to 258 bp of intergenic spacers between tandemly duplicated rrf (5s) and rrl (23s) was amplified by pcr. msei and drai restriction fragment polymorphisms were used to analyze these ...	2001	11427560
patterns of lyme disease diagnosis and treatment by family physicians in a southeastern state.	this study examined how often physicians in georgia diagnose and treat lyme disease as well as the criteria they use to reach a diagnosis of lyme disease. a survey was sent to 1,331 family physicians in georgia concerning how many cases of lyme disease the physicians diagnosed, and the criteria used to make the diagnosis, during the preceding 12 months. of 710 responses, 167 physicians treated 316 cases of lyme disease without a firm diagnosis. in addition, 125 physicians diagnosed 262 cases of ...	2002	12458782
parasitism of lizards by immature stages of the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis (acari, ixodidae).	from 1982-1985 and 1993-1999, a total of 309 individual reptiles, mostly lizards and snakes, belonging to 12 species (american alligator, six lizard species, five snake species) was captured on st. catherine's island, liberty county, georgia, usa, and examined for ticks. three lizard species, the broad-headed skink eumeces laticeps, southeastern 5-lined skink eumeces inexpectatus, and eastern glass lizard ophisaurus ventralis, were severely infested with larvae and nymphs of the blacklegged tick ...	2002	12537298
detection of babesia and anaplasma species in rabbits from texas and georgia, usa.	rabbits have been shown to harbor a suite of zoonotic organisms, including a babesia species, borrelia burgdorferi, and anaplasma phagocytophilum. in this study, we conducted a molecular survey for various tick-borne pathogens in three species of rabbits from texas and georgia. of 18 black-tailed jackrabbits (lepus californicus) tested from texas, six (28%) were polymerase chain reaction (pcr) positive for babesia, and nucleotide sequencing revealed two distinct species or strains. two jackrabbi ...	2006	16584322
comparison of the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi s. l. isolated from the tick ixodes scapularis in southeastern and northeastern united states.	thirty-five strains of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (b. burgdorferi s. l.) were isolated from the blacklegged tick vector ixodes scapularis in south carolina, georgia, florida, and rhode island. they were characterized by pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis of rrf (5s)-rrl (23s) intergenic spacer amplicons. pcr-rflp analysis indicated that the strains represented at least 3 genospecies (including a possible novel genospecies) and 4 differen ...	2008	18576863
recent discovery of widespread ixodes affinis (acari: ixodidae) distribution in north carolina with implications for lyme disease studies.	ixodes affinis, which is similar morphologically to ixodes scapularis, is widely distributed in north carolina. collections have documented this species in 32 of 41 coastal plain counties, but no piedmont or mountain counties. this coastal plain distribution is similar to its distribution in georgia and south carolina, where it is considered an enzootic vector of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. an updated list of hosts for i. affinis in the u.s.a. is included, increasing the number to 15 mam ...	2010	20618664
high snp density in the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis, the principal vector of lyme disease spirochetes.	single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) are the most widespread type of sequence variation in genomes. snp density and distribution varies among different organisms and genes. here, we report the first estimates of snp distribution and density in the genome of the blacklegged tick (ixodes scapularis), an important vector of the pathogens causing lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis and human babesiosis in north america. we sampled 10 individuals from each of 4 collections from new jersey ...	2013	23219364
the rare ospc allele l of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, commonly found among samples collected in a coastal plain area of the southeastern united states, is associated with ixodes affinis ticks and local rodent hosts peromyscus gossypinus and sigmodon hispidus.	the rare ospc allele l was detected in 30% of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strains cultured from a tick species, ixodes affinis, and two rodent host species, peromyscus gossypinus and sigmodon hispidus, collected in a coastal plain area of georgia and south carolina, in the southeastern united states.	2013	23220965
lyme borreliosis in human patients in florida and georgia, usa.	the aim of this study was to determine the cause of illness in several human patients residing in florida and georgia, usa, with suspected lyme disease based upon em-like skin lesions and/or symptoms consistent with early localized or late disseminated lyme borreliosis. using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assays developed specifically for lyme group borrelia spp., followed by dna sequencing for confirmation, we identified borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato dna in samples of blood and skin and als ...	2013	23781138
nuclear markers reveal predominantly north to south gene flow in ixodes scapularis, the tick vector of the lyme disease spirochete.	ixodes scapularis, the tick vector of the lyme disease spirochete, is distributed over most of the eastern united states, but >80% of all lyme disease cases occur in the northeast. the role that genetic differences between northern and southern tick populations play in explaining this disparate distribution of lyme disease cases is unclear. the present study was conducted with 1,155 snp markers in eight nuclear genes; the 16s mitochondrial gene was examined for comparison with earlier studies. w ...	2015	26536360