Complex population structure of Lyme borreliosis group spirochete Borrelia garinii in subarctic Eurasia.

ABSTRACT: Borrelia garinii, a causative agent of Lyme borreliosis in Europe and Asia, is naturally maintained in marine and terrestrial enzootic cycles, which primarily involve birds, including seabirds and migratory passerines. These bird groups associate with, correspondingly, Ixodes uriae and Ixodes ricinus ticks, of which the latter species may bite and transmit the infection to humans. Studies of the overlap between these two natural cycles of B. garinii have been limited, in part due to the absence of representative collections of this spirochete's samples, as well as of the lack of reliable measure of the genetic heterogeneity of its strains. As a prerequisite for understanding the epidemiological correlates of the complex maintenance of B. garinii, the present study sought to assess the dive

SUBMITTER: Comstedt P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2688082 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature