Minor Hosts Have a Major Impact on the Enzootic Transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi.

ABSTRACT: In the northeast United States, subadult deer ticks feeding on white-footed mice are thought to drive the force of transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), the agent of Lyme disease. However, control measures targeting mice have produced inconsistent results, suggesting that other animals are significant contributors to enzootic transmission. Such contributions have previously been difficult to quantify. We used a retrotransposon-based host blood meal assay to measure the relative contribution of hosts to enzootic B. burgdorferi transmission at two insular sites in Massachusetts. Over 6 years, we identified mice and deer as the most common larval hosts at our Nantucket Island site. Infected nymphal ticks were derived mainly from mice (35%) and shrews (31%), despite shrews hav

SUBMITTER: Goethert H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11720800 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature