Temporal dynamics of antibody level against Lyme disease bacteria in roe deer: Tale of a sentinel?

ABSTRACT: Changes in the risk of exposure to infectious disease agents can be tracked through variations in antibody prevalence in vertebrate host populations. However, information on the temporal dynamics of the immune status of individuals is critical. If antibody levels persist a long time after exposure to an infectious agent, they could enable the efficient detection of the past circulation of the agent; if they persist only a short time, they could provide snap shots of recent exposure of sampled hosts. Here, we explored the temporal dynamics of seropositivity against Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) in individuals of a widespread medium-sized mammal species, the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), in France. Using a modified commercially available imm

SUBMITTER: Ollivier V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10433119 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature