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1 July 2011 Acquisition and Subsequent Transmission of Borrelia hermsii by the Soft Tick Ornithodoros hermsi
Job E. Lopez, Brandi N. McCoy, Benjamin J. Krajacich, Tom G. Schwan
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Abstract

Tick-borne relapsing fever is caused by spirochetes within the genus Borrelia. The hallmark of this disease is recurrent febrile episodes and high spirochete densities in mammalian blood resulting from immune evasion. Between episodes of spirochetemia when bacterial densities are low, it is unknown whether ticks can acquire the spirochetes, become colonized by the bacteria, and subsequently transmit the bacteria once they feed again. We addressed these questions by feeding ticks, Ornithodoros hermsi Wheeler (Acari: Argasidae), daily on an infected mouse during low and high levels of spirochete infections. This study demonstrates that spirochete acquisition by the tick vector can occur during low levels of mammalian infection and that once a spirochetemic threshold is attained within the blood, nearly 100% of ticks become colonized by Borrelia hermsii.

© 2011 Entomological Society of America
Job E. Lopez, Brandi N. McCoy, Benjamin J. Krajacich, and Tom G. Schwan "Acquisition and Subsequent Transmission of Borrelia hermsii by the Soft Tick Ornithodoros hermsi," Journal of Medical Entomology 48(4), 891-895, (1 July 2011). https://doi.org/10.1603/ME10283
Received: 31 December 2010; Accepted: 1 April 2011; Published: 1 July 2011
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KEYWORDS
acquisition
Borrelia hermsii
Ornithodoros hermsi
relapsing fever spirochetes
transmission
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