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Isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi from saliva of the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis.

A method for cultivating and isolating Lyme disease spirochetes, Borrelia burgdorferi, from the saliva of vector ticks, Ixodes scapularis (formerly known as Ixodes dammini), is described. Saliva was collected from partially engorged ticks after application of pilocarpine to induce salivation. B. burgdorferi was isolated from 8 of 14 (57%) of the saliva samples derived from ticks infected with the bacteria, as determined by direct immunofluorescent-antibody assay of tick hemolymph. A comparison of the protein profiles of the salivary isolates and a highly passaged strain (B31) showed that the salivary isolates all lacked a 22-kDa protein known to increase with continuous passage, but exhibited larger amounts of the OspA and OspB proteins than did the highly passaged B31 strain.

Animals↗

Canine seroprevalence and the distribution of Ixodes dammini in an area of emerging Lyme disease.

This study evaluates the relative usefulness of canine serosurveys to predict risk of exposure in an area of emerging Lyme disease by comparing the distribution of canine seroprevalence with that of vector ticks. From 16 veterinary clinics throughout the State of Maine, 828 canine sera were obtained during the heartworm-testing months of April and May 1989 and measured for anti-Borrelia antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In the same year, 1605 ticks, including 585 Ixodes dammini, were collected from pets, humans, small mammals, and deer. Thirty-six dogs were seropositive, 28 of which had not traveled to endemic areas. Eighty-nine percent of all seropositive dogs were from towns within 20 miles (32 km) of the coast; the great majority lived within 5 miles (8 km) of tidewater (odds ratio =4.45, P = .002). Positivity varied from 17% in a southern coastal clinic to 0% in four northern clinics. Of 585 I. dammini identified, all but 5 (99.1%) were also from towns within 20 miles of the coast. Comparison of I. dammini submissions with those of another commonly found tick, Ixodes cookei, corroborated this predominantly coastal distribution. Canine seropositivity generally coincided with this coastal range. These data predicted areas of risk for human Lyme disease, although the prevalence of reported cases remained low.

Animals↗

Erythema chronicum migrans in Sweden: clinical manifestations and antibodies to Ixodes ricinus spirochete measured by indirect immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

26 Swedish patients with erythema chronicum migrans (ECM) were studied regarding associated clinical symptoms and antibodies to Swedish Ixodes ricinus spirochete. 11/26 (42%) of the patients had associated symptoms, compared to more than 90% of 314 American patients with ECM, as described by Steere et al. Only 2/26 (8%) had multiple skin lesions, compared to 48% of the American patients. Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and circulating immune complexes were demonstrated in 6/25 (24%) and 8/25 patients (32%), respectively, as against in 53% and 84%, respectively, of the American patients. The antibody response to Ixodes ricinus spirochete was measured by indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared to the 95% percentile of controls, significantly high antibody titers were demonstrated in 3/25 (12%) by IFA, and 7/25 (28%) by ELISA. The ELISA antibody titers differed significantly (p less than 0.05) between ECM-patients and controls. The spirochetal antibody response in ECM was also compared with that in spirochete-associated disease of the central nervous system.

Adolescent↗

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection in Ixodes ricinus in Sweden.

Between 1988-1991, a total of 3,141 Ixodes ricinus ticks, 2,740 adults and 401 nymphs, was collected from different localities in 23 of the 25 provinces of Sweden. The ticks were identified, dissected and examined for the presence of Borrelia spirochetes. Indirect immunofluorescence was performed, using an antiserum obtained from rabbits, immunized with sonicated, whole Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes isolated from Swedish Ixodes ricinus ticks. Borrelia-positive I. ricinus were found in all 23 provinces. The prevalence of infection in adults ranged from 3% in Jämtland to 23% in Södermanland. In nymphs, the infection prevalence ranged from 0% in 9 provinces to 15% in Södermanland. A significantly greater proportion of the adult ticks were found to be positive for Borrelia in the southern and central parts of Sweden as compared to the northern part (Norrland). No significant difference in prevalence could be demonstrated between the western and eastern parts of Sweden. On average, 10% of the nymphs and 15% of the adult I. ricinus were positive for Borrelia. Of 41 non-I. ricinus ticks, none was positive for Borrelia. This study shows that Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is present throughout the distributional area of I. ricinus in Sweden. This should lead to increased awareness of signs and symptoms compatible with Lyme borreliosis in persons living in or visiting areas where I. ricinus is present.

Animals↗

Paralysis with Ixodes cornuatus envenomation.

Ixodes cornuatus is a tick that is widely distributed in Victoria, Tasmania and southern New South Wales. Serious human envenomation has not been reported previously. The clinical syndrome that results from envenomation by Ixodes cornuatus in a three-year-old boy is presented. Bulbar palsy and respiratory failure necessitated endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation for five days. Canine tick antivenom was administered.

Animals↗

Cases of Lyme disease in the United States: locations correlated with distribution of Ixodes dammini.

Lyme disease, defined by erythema chronicum migrans and sometimes followed by neurologic, cardiac, or joint involvement, is known to have affected 512 patients in the United States. The disease seems to occur in three distinct foci: along the northeastern coast, in Wisconsin, and in California and Oregon, a distribution that correlates closely with that of Ixodes dammini in the first two areas and with Ixodes pacificus in the last. The implicated tick, saved by six patients in the Northeast, was identified as nymphal I. dammini. Residence in or travel to endemic areas and history of tick bite may be important clues to diagnosis.

Arachnid Vectors↗

The groundhog tick Ixodes cookei (Acari: ixodidae): a poor potential vector of Lyme borreliosis.

Evidence for infection with the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, was sought in Ixodes cookei and in groundhogs (Marmota monax) in southern Ontario, Canada, and ticks fed on experimentally inoculated hosts were examined for the spirochete. Borrelia burgdorferi was not detected by immunofluorescent examination of 110 larval, nymphal or adult I. cookei collected from the environment, or taken from humans and other animals. Three groundhogs inoculated with B. burgdorferi developed titers of 1:20 to 1:80 by the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test, but B. burgdorferi was not isolated from the spleens, kidneys, or urinary bladders of these animals. One of 30 wild groundhogs had an antibody titer of 1:20 to B. burgdorferi. Three (5%) of 59 I. cookei larvae fed on B. burgdorferi-infected hamsters became infected, in comparison with 23 (28%) of 82 I. dammini larvae fed on the same hosts. Borrelia burgdorferi was present in 5%, 16% and 4% of molted I. cookei nymphs fed on infected hamsters, rats or a groundhog, respectively; prevalences of infection in I. dammini fed on the same hosts were significantly (P < 0.05) higher (45%, 36%, and 23%, respectively), as was the intensity of infection. A naive groundhog on which I. cookei nymphs from an infected cohort fed did not become infected with B. burgdorferi, but it is uncertain whether an infected tick engorged on the experimental host. Ixodes cookei seems to be an inefficient vector of B. burgdorferi, and is unlikely to be significant in nature. Groundhogs are potential wildlife reservoirs of B. burgdorferi, based on their capacity to transmit infection to I. dammini.

Animals↗

[Clinical and morphological characteristics of migrating erythema in patients with Ixodes tick-borne Lyme disease].

Patients with erythematous Ixodes tick-borne relapsing fever were examined and their skin biopsy specimens were morphologically studied to reveal clinical, immunological and morphological features of erythematous Ixodes tick-borne relapsing fever. Two types of development of erythema migrans were identified. These include 1) a typical type that appears as an area of homogenous hyperemia or that of annular shape and 2) an atypical one that presents as minor vesicles. There were elevated serum immunoglobulins A levels at the height of the disease. Morphologically, at the early stage of the disease, the center of erythema shows disturbances characterized by epidermal dystrophic processes, koilocytosis, subhorny and epidermal vesicles. The dermis displays solid perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates admixed with fibroblasts, fibrocytes, macrophages, plasmocytes, eosinophils, degranulated labrocytes. The interstitium exhibits scanty infiltrates. These changes are less pronounced at the periphery. Electron microscopy shows the structures morphologically similar to those of Borrelia. The late stage (days 15-23) of the disease is marked by insignificant dystrophy and perivascular fibrosis. There were no interstitial infiltrates. By and large, the pattern of clinical and immunological manifestations in patients with erythema migrans correlates with dermal morphological changes.

Adolescent↗

Ixodes (Afrixodes) drakensbergensis n. sp. from domestic and wild animals in Natal, Republic of South Africa.

Ixodes (Afrixodes) drakensbergensis n. sp., is described from females, males, nymphs and larvae collected on a drag at Giant's Castle Nature Reserve, Natal, Republic of South Africa; it was also taken from an eland in the same area and from goats and a cow in the adjacent Tank Area 118. The occurrence of I. (A.) drakensbergensis on domestic animals suggests that it may be of economic importance in this area. Information is provided to separate the new species from other closely related Ixodes species that occur or may occur in this region.

Animals↗

[Comparative study of ixodes ticks on their infection with tularemia pathogen using biologic and serological assays].

The paper presents the results of a long-term comparative study of the infection of Ixodes tick imagoes with the pathogen of tularemia by using the biological assay and antibody neutralization test. The infection rates determined by both methods were found to be identical or close. If there was a difference in the rates in some years, it was not statistically significant. A statistically significant difference could not be found in the infection rates for ticks and in the dependence on their species composition though the level of infection in representatives of one species greatly differed from that in others. The serological study of Ixodes tick imagoes, aimed at determining their infection with a tularemia pathogen, yielded the results which are comparable with those of the biological assay and may be used in epizootological studies without using the biological test or by significantly limiting its use.

Animals↗

The western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus, in the Sutter Buttes.

The western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus, was collected from Huff Canyon in the Sutter Buttes in north central California, Sutter County. The Sutter Buttes are within the Sacramento Valley and outside the normal distribution of I. pacificus in California. Adult I. pacificus were collected via flagging as they quested along deer trails; subadult life stages were collected from three species of lizard, Elgaria multicarinata, Sceloporus occidentalis, and S. graciosus. Adult ticks were tested for the presence of spirochetes using the standard IFA with a monoclonal antibody specific for OSPA. Of the ticks tested, 3.3% were identified as positive for the presence of the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. These results present the first published account of Ixodes pacificus as well as the first detection of B. burgdorferi in the Sutter Buttes, Sutter County, California.

Animals↗

[Ixodes ricinus proven as a vector of Lyme borreliosis in Yugoslavia].

263 fasting female Ixodes ricinus were examined for Borrelia burgorferi, the vector of Lyme borreliosis. Female ticks were collected by flagella in the biotopes (Belgrade and Osijek) in which ticks bite patients with Lyme borreliosis. Borrelia burgorferi was proved in 58 (22%) of 263 female ticks in the native preparations of the intestinal contents by darkfield microscopy. In macerates of two groups of 5 female ticks each, Borrelia burgorferi was isolated by cultivation in the modified Kelly nutrient media for borrelia. The supposition that Ixodes ricinus is the vector of Lyme borreliosis in Yugoslavia is confirmed.

Animals↗

Salivary gland antigens of Ixodes dammini are glycoproteins that have interspecies cross-reactivity.

Serum from rabbits and rats exposed to Ixodes dammini adults and larvae, respectively, contain antibodies to a large number of antigens in salivary gland homogenates from adult ticks that cross react with the antigens of a closely related species, Ixodes scapularis, and significantly with Dermacentor variabilis antigens. The salivary gland antigens of I. dammini are glycoproteins composed of both N- and O-linked carbohydrate chains. The antigenic determinants reside in both the polypeptide and carbohydrate chains.

Animals↗

[Ixodes ricinus, Haemaphysalis concinna and Dermacentor reticulatus (Ixodida, Ixodidae) in the East German district of Leipzig].

Haemaphysalis concinna and Dermacentor reticulatus mostly occur in narrow-limited humid biotopes of certain landscapes, whereas Ixodes ricinus--as wellknown--occurs more or less occupying the whole territory in kind of a mosaic; in regard of epidemiological questions at least, such a distribution may be resumed for Ixodes ricinus. Haemaphysalis concinna nearly regularly may be found in certain biotopes. Considering the possible role of Haemaphysalis concinna and Dermacentor reticulatus as vectors and reservoirs of transmissive agents special attention is paid to the transmitting of tick-borne borreliosis.

Animals↗

Multiple bites from the larvae of the tick Ixodes ricinus. A case report.

The case is presented of a 32-year-old man with multiple reddish-blue papules on both thighs and sporadic on the lower part of the trunk and lower legs, clinically compatible with multiple 'insect' bites. The lesions were found to be multiple bites from larvae of the tick Ixodes ricinus. The larvae are about 1 mm long, live very close to the ground, and mainly parasitize small rodents. They are, therefore, generally not well known. Although seldom encountered, we suggest that bites from the larvae of the tick Ixodes ricinus should be kept in mind in patients with multiple 'insect' bites, especially in periods with high tick activity. The differential diagnosis is important because the larvae may cause infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorgferi.

Adult↗

[Epidemiology of Ixodes-Borreliosis in Southern Germany].

Intimate adaptation occurs between European strains of Borrelia burgdorferi and the local hard tick Ixodes ricinus. I. dammini, the important vector in USA, could not be infected experimentally with a strain of the lyme spirochete from Southern Germany. Other species of blood suckers are sometimes able to maintain uptaken spirochetes for a few days, but never to compensate the tick vector. Man seems to be a good host for B. burgdorferi but without epidemiological significance due to his poor vector role for ticks. The Ixodes-borreliosis is an anthropozoonosis. Well-known animal hosts for the three life stages of the tick are possible carrier hosts for B. burgdorferi as well. It has been established here for the first time in Europe that common wild-rodent species may be of some significance as hosts for the spirochete, as it is well-known in North America. Serological evidence shows, that dogs and grasing cattle in Southern Germany seem to play an important role in B. burgdorferi's outdoor circulation. 36 out of 72 dogs (= 50%) and 22 out of 66 cattle (= 33%) reacted significantly positive in the IFAT if local strains of B. burgdorferi were used as antigen. No serological cross reactions have been observed with Leptospira infections in dogs and cattles.

Animals↗

Ixodes (Afrixodes) Neitzi, n. sp. (Acarina: Ixodidae) from the mountain reedbuck in South Africa.

Ixodes (Afrixodes) neitzi n. sp. is described from females and males collected from the mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa. Information is provided to distinguish this new species from other closely related Ixodes species that occur in the Ethiopian region. Its predilection sites are noted and the area in which it occurs is described briefly.

Animals↗

The isolation of Central European encephalitis (tick-borne encephalitis) virus from Ixodes ricinus (L.) ticks in southern-Germany.

During the years 1972--1976 a total of 14.692 ticks of the species Ixodes ricinus (L.), (2.738 adults and 11.954 nymphs) was collected. They were taken from five areas where human Central European encephalitis virus (CEE) infections had occurred. By means of, intracerebral (IC) and subcutaneous (SC) isolation experiments with suckling mice 19 agents, exhibiting the pathogenic characteristics of CEE virus, were isolated from these ticks. In neutralization tests with suckling mice these isolates could be identified as CEE virus strains. From the 14.692 ticks at least 1.29% were virus carriers as evidenced by the number of isolated virus strains. By the same reasoning at least 3.6% of the adults and 0.76% of the nymphs must have contained virus. We were successful in each of the five areas, rather distant from each other, to isolate the virus. The favorable ecological conditions for the main vector Ixodes ricinus in the Federal Republic of Germany give rise to the assumption that this medically important tick-borne disease might be permanently present in many areas.

Animals↗