Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi endemic at epicenter in Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario.
Morshed MG, Scott JD, Fernando K, Mann RB, Durden LA.
Laboratory Services, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V5Z 4R4. mmorshed@interchange.ubc.ca
The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmidt, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner was discovered in blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada During this 2-yr study, spirochetes were found in B. burgdorferi-positive I. scapularis larvae attached to B. burgdorferi-infected white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque. Isolates of B. burgdorferi were cultured from blacklegged tick adults, and confirmed positive with polymerase chain reaction by targeting OspA and rrf (5S)-rrl (23S) genes. These findings show an endemic area for B. burgdorferi within an established population of L. scapularis at Rondeau Provincial Park.
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PMID: 12597659 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]