First detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA in king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus halli).

The hard tick Ixodes uriae parasitises a wide range of seabird species in the circumpolar areas of both Northern and Southern hemispheres and has been shown to be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the bacterial agents of Lyme borreliosis. Although it is assumed that seabirds represent viable reservoir hosts, direct demonstrations of infection are limited to a single study from the Northern hemisphere. Here, the blood of 50 tick-infested adult king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus halli) breeding in the Crozet Archipelago (Southern Indian Ocean) was examined for B.

Borrelia crocidurae infection of Ornithodoros erraticus (Lucas, 1849) ticks in Tunisia.

Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is caused by Borrelia species transmitted to humans by infected Ornithodoros sp. ticks. The disease has been rarely described in North Africa, and in Tunisia the local transmission of TBRF seems to have disappeared or is undiagnosed.

Borrelia hispanica relapsing fever, Morocco.

We found that 20.5% of patients with an unexplained fever in northwestern Morocco had tick-borne relapsing fever. Molecular detection specific for the 16S rRNA gene identified Borrelia hispanica.

Molecular analysis of Leptospira spp. isolated from humans by restriction fragment length polymorphism, real-time PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

A total of 17 Leptospira clinical strains isolated from humans in Croatia were serologically and genetically analysed. For serovar identification, the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used. To identify isolates on genomic species level, PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and real-time PCR were performed.

Reservoir role of lizard Psammodromus algirus in transmission cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Spirochaetaceae) in Tunisia.

To investigate the reservoir role of the lizard Psammodromus algirus for the Lyme disease spirochete, 199 lizards were trapped from April to October 2003 in El Jouza, northwestern Tunisia. In this site, the infection rate of free-living Ixodes ricinus (L.) by Borrelia was evaluated by immunofluorescence as 34.

A single-run, real-time PCR for detection and identification of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species, based on the hbb gene sequence.

Lyme borreliosis is the most important vector-borne disease caused by spirochetes within the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi sl) complex. There is strong evidence that different species of this group of genetically diverse spirochetes are involved in distinct clinical manifestations of the disease.

Short report: dual infections with Puumala virus and Leptospira interrogans serovar lora in a bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus).

Leptospirosis and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome are public health problems in Croatia. Diagnosis and epidemiology of these diseases are complicated because these two diseases are sympatric in certain areas. We describe a natural dual infection of Puumala virus and a leptospire in a bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus).

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasmataceae members in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Alsace, a focus of Lyme borreliosis endemicity in France.

Due to the high Lyme borreliosis incidence in Alsace, in northeastern France, we investigated in 2003-2004 three cantons in this region in order to determine the density of Ixodes ricinus ticks infected by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasmataceae. The peak density of nymphs infected by B. burgdorferi sensu lato at Munster and Guebwiller, where the disease incidence was high, was among the highest reported in Europe (105 and 114 per 100 m(2), respectively).

Delineation of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species by multilocus sequence analysis and confirmation of the delineation of Borrelia spielmanii sp. nov.

To evaluate multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) for taxonomic purposes in the delineation of species within Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, seven relevant loci of various strains for which extensive DNA-DNA reassociation data were available were sequenced. MLSA delineation proved to be fully concordant with conventional methods. Our analysis confirmed the delineation of a novel species, Borrelia spielmanii sp.

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto invasiveness is correlated with OspC-plasminogen affinity.

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, is transmitted through tick bite. Lyme borreliosis evolves in two stages: a primary red skin lesion called erythema migrans; later on, invasive bacteria disseminate to distant sites inducing secondary manifestations (neuropathies, arthritis, carditis, late skin disorders). It has been previously suggested that the ospC gene could be associated with invasiveness in humans depending on its sequence.

Trends in leptospirosis epidemiology in France. Sixty-six years of passive serological surveillance from 1920 to 2003.

Objectives: The incidence of leptospirosis, a worldwide zoonosis, has significantly decreased in Western Europe during the last decades. Our aim was to analyse all reliable data collected at the Institut Pasteur from 1920 to 2003 to evaluate more precisely the evolution of the incidence of leptospirosis in France.

Methods: The passive surveillance system used as early as 1920 allows the evaluation of leptospirosis incidence.

Characterization of Borrelia lusitaniae isolates collected in Tunisia and Morocco.

Borrelia lusitaniae is a species within the complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and is infrequently isolated in Europe. In contrast, this species is by far the most predominant in North Africa and in Portugal. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity, at several loci, of a large population of isolates from free-living Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Tunisia and Morocco.

Detection and identification of Ehrlichia spp. in ticks collected in Tunisia and Morocco.

A broad-range 16S rRNA gene PCR assay followed by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used for the detection of members of the family Anaplasmataceae in ticks in North Africa. A total of 418 questing Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Tunisia and Morocco, as well as 188 Rhipicephalus ticks from dogs and 52 Hyalomma ticks from bovines in Tunisia, were included in this study. Of 324 adult I.

Risk factors for leptospirosis in metropolitan France: results of a national case-control study, 1999-2000.

Risk factors for leptospirosis in France were investigated to improve the vaccination program for this disease. Data from 90 hospitalized case patients and 169 matched control subjects were analyzed in a case-control study. Skin lesions, canoeing, contact with wild rodents, and country residence were independently associated with leptospirosis, emphasizing that leisure activity is a risk factor for this illness.

Genetic diversity among Borrelia strains determined by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of the ospC gene and its association with invasiveness.

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a tick-borne spirochetal infection caused by three Borrelia species: Borrelia afzelii, B. garinii, and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto.

First isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato from Ixodes ricinus ticks in Morocco.

To determine the infection rate of Ixodes ricinus (I. ricinus) ticks with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi sl) and to assess the frequency of the individual Borrelia species in this tick species, a total of 295 I.

Molecular diversity of the ospC gene in Borrelia. Impact on phylogeny, epidemiology and pathology.

Lyme borreliosis is a 2 steps disease: i) Localized erythema migrans ii) occasionally a disseminated disease. Three out of the 10 up to now described Borrelia species are pathogenic for man and each of them exhibits its own organotropism: joints for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (B.b.

Human infection caused by Leptospira fainei.

We report a human case of leptospirosis in which the spirochete was detected by dark-field microscopy examination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and isolated from both CSF and blood. Leptospira fainei was identified by sequencing the 16S rDNA gene, which had been amplified by polymerase chain reaction. This case confirms the role of L.

Association of distinct species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato with neuroborreliosis in Switzerland.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate by species-specific immunoblots the association of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii and B. afzelii with neuroborreliosis in Switzerland.