HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Association of Borrelia garinii and B. valaisiana with songbirds in Slovakia.

Abstract
In Europe, 6 of the 11 genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato are prevalent in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks. In most parts of Central Europe, B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana are the most frequent species, whereas B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. bissettii, and B. lusitaniae are rare. Previously, it has been shown that B. afzelii is associated with European rodents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify reservoir hosts of B. garinii and B. valaisiana in Slovakia. Songbirds were captured in a woodland near Bratislava and investigated for engorged ticks. Questing I. ricinus ticks were collected in the same region. Both tick pools were analyzed for spirochete infections by PCR, followed by DNA-DNA hybridization and, for a subsample, by nucleotide sequencing. Three of the 17 captured songbird species were infested with spirochete-infected ticks. Spirochetes in ticks that had fed on birds were genotyped as B. garinii and B. valaisiana, whereas questing ticks were infected with B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana. Furthermore, identical ospA alleles of B. garinii were found in ticks that had fed on the birds and in questing ticks. The data show that songbirds are reservoir hosts of B. garinii and B. valaisiana but not of B. afzelii. This and previous studies confirm that B. burgdorferi sensu lato is host associated and that this bacterial species complex contains different ecotypes.
AuthorsKlára Hanincová, Veronika Taragelová, Juraj Koci, Stefanie M Schäfer, Rosie Hails, Amy J Ullmann, Joseph Piesman, Milan Labuda, Klaus Kurtenbach
JournalApplied and environmental microbiology (Appl Environ Microbiol) Vol. 69 Issue 5 Pg. 2825-30 (May 2003) ISSN: 0099-2240 [Print] United States
PMID12732554 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References
  • DNA, Bacterial
Topics
  • Animals
  • Arachnid Vectors (microbiology)
  • Base Sequence
  • Borrelia (classification, genetics, isolation & purification, pathogenicity)
  • Borrelia burgdorferi Group (genetics, isolation & purification)
  • DNA, Bacterial (genetics)
  • Disease Reservoirs
  • Ixodes (microbiology)
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Slovakia
  • Songbirds (microbiology)
  • Species Specificity

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: