| transmission cycles of borrelia burgdorferi and b. bissettii in relation to habitat type in northwestern california. | this study was undertaken to determine which rodent species serve as primary reservoirs for the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi in commonly occurring woodland types in inland areas of northwestern california, and to examine whether chaparral or grassland serve as source habitats for dispersal of b. burgdorferi- or b. bissettii-infected rodents into adjacent woodlands. the western gray squirrel (sciurus griseus) was commonly infected with b. burgdorferi in oak woodlands, whereas exam ... | 2009 | 20514140 |
| coinfection of western gray squirrel (sciurus griseus) and other sciurid rodents with borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and anaplasma phagocytophilum in california. | overlapping geographic distributions of tick-borne disease agents utilizing the same tick vectors are common, and coinfection of humans, domestic animals, wildlife, and ticks with both borrelia burgdorferi and anaplasma phagocytophilum has been frequently reported. this study was undertaken in order to evaluate the prevalence of both b. burgdorferi sensu stricto (hereinafter referred to as b. burgdorferi) and a. phagocytophilum in several species of sciurid rodents from northern california, usa. ... | 2010 | 20090047 |
| distribution of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi in naturally and experimentally infected western gray squirrels (sciurus griseus). | the dynamics of borrelia burgdorferi infections within its natural hosts are poorly understood. we necropsied four wild-caught western gray squirrels (sciurus griseus) that were acquired during a previous study that evaluated the reservoir competence of this rodent for the lyme disease spirochete. one animal was infected experimentally, whereas the others were infected in the wild before capture. to investigate dissemination of b. burgdorferi and concurrent histopathologic lesions in different t ... | 2010 | 20017717 |
| identifying the reservoir hosts of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi in california: the role of the western gray squirrel (sciurus griseus). | we investigated the role of the western gray squirrel (sciurus griseus) as a reservoir host of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi. a survey of 222 western gray squirrels in california showed an overall prevalence of b. burgdorferi infection of 30%, although at a county level, prevalence of infection ranged from 0% to 50% by polymerase chain reaction. laboratory trials with wild-caught western gray squirrels indicated that squirrels were competent reservoir hosts of the lyme disease ... | 2008 | 18840740 |
| community ecology and disease risk: lizards, squirrels, and the lyme disease spirochete in california, usa. | vector-borne zoonotic diseases are often maintained in complex transmission cycles involving multiple vertebrate hosts and their arthropod vectors. in the state of california, u.s.a., the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi, which causes lyme disease, is transmitted between vertebrate hosts by the western black-legged tick, ixodes pacificus. several mammalian species serve as reservoir hosts of the spirochete, but levels of tick infestation, reservoir competence, and borrelia-infection prevalence va ... | 2010 | 20380218 |
| western gray squirrel (rodentia: sciuridae): a primary reservoir host of borrelia burgdorferi in californian oak woodlands? | in california, dense woodlands have been recognized as important biotopes where humans are exposed to the nymphal stage of the western blacklegged tick, ixodes pacificus cooley & kohls, the primary vector of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), in the far-western united states. to identify the principal reservoir host(s) of this spirochete, and of closely related spirochetes in the b. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex, in dense woodlands in mendocino county, ... | 2005 | 15962792 |
| sylvatic maintenance of borrelia burgdorferi (spirochaetales) in northern california: untangling the web of transmission. | lyme borreliosis is associated with several genospecies of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) (spirochaetales), but human disease has been associated only with borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) johnson, schmid, hyde, steigerwalt & brenner in the western united states. restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis of rrf-rrl amplicons from 124 tick and mammalian isolates from various habitats yielded 13 rflp patterns. of these patterns, six were patterns previously associat ... | 2006 | 16892634 |
| the roles of birds, lizards, and rodents as hosts for the western black-legged tick ixodes pacificus. | we compared the infestation by ixodid ticks of lizards, rodents, and birds collected simultaneously within areas representing common habitat types in mendocino county, ca. lizards were infested only by ixodes pacificus cooley and kohls, birds by i. pacificus and haemaphysalis leporispalustris (packard), and rodents by i. pacificus, i. spinipalpis hadwen and nuttall, i. woodi bishopp, dermacentor occidentalis marx, and d. variabilis (say). infestation by i. pacificus larvae and nymphs of lizards ... | 2004 | 15709249 |
| population structure of the lyme borreliosis spirochete borrelia burgdorferi in the western black-legged tick (ixodes pacificus) in northern california. | factors potentially contributing to the lower incidence of lyme borreliosis (lb) in the far-western than in the northeastern united states include tick host-seeking behavior resulting in fewer human tick encounters, lower densities of borrelia burgdorferi-infected vector ticks in peridomestic environments, and genetic variation among b. burgdorferi spirochetes to which humans are exposed. we determined the population structure of b. burgdorferi in over 200 infected nymphs of the primary bridging ... | 2009 | 19783741 |