Infection dynamics of the tick-borne pathogen "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis" and coinfections with Borrelia afzelii in bank voles in Southern Sweden.

ABSTRACT: The tick-borne bacterium "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis" has recently been recognized as a human pathogen. Together with Borrelia afzelii, it is one of the most common pathogens found in the tick Ixodes ricinus. Here, we compared the epidemiologies of "Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis" and B. afzelii by longitudinal sampling from May to September in one of their most abundant vertebrate hosts, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), using real-time PCR for detection and quantification. The prevalences of "Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis" and B. afzelii were determined to be 19% (50/261) and 22% (56/261), respectively. The prevalence of "Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis" increased significantly during the sampling season. The clearance rate of "Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis" was significantly higher than th

SUBMITTER: Andersson M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3957614 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature