PCR Detection of spp. and spp. DNA in Dry Blood Spot Samples from Human Patients.

Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States. constitute an additional zoonotic pathogen whose public health impact and diversity continue to emerge. Rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of these and other vector-borne pathogens remains challenging, especially for patients with persistent infections.

Detection of DNA in Yellow Flies, Lone Star Ticks, and a Human Patient with Concurrent Evidence of Infection in Northeast Florida, USA.

species and sensu lato (Bbsl) are emerging zoonotic pathogens. The vectors and frequency of infections with both pathogen groups in the southern United States is understudied. This study describes an investigation of and Bbsl in yellow flies collected at a residence in northeast Florida, USA, that led to subsequent discoveries of both organisms in lone star ticks () and a human patient.

Novel spp. in two common overwintering North American songbirds.

American robins and dark-eyed juncos migrate across North America and have been found to be competent hosts for some bacterial and viral pathogens, but their contributions to arthropod-borne diseases more broadly remain poorly characterized. Here, we sampled robins and juncos in multiple sites across North America for arthropod-borne bacterial pathogens of public health significance. We identified two novel spp.

Detection and Transstadial Passage of Species and Sensu Lato in Ticks Collected from Avian and Mammalian Hosts in Canada.

Lyme disease and human babesiosis are the most common tick-borne zoonoses in the Temperate Zone of North America. The number of infected patients has continued to rise globally, and these zoonoses pose a major healthcare threat. This tick-host-pathogen study was conducted to test for infectious microbes associated with Lyme disease and human babesiosis in Canada.

Presence of and Sensu Stricto in a Tick and Dual Parasitism of and on a Bird in Canada.

Wild birds transport ticks into Canada that harbor a diversity of zoonotic pathogens. However, medical practitioners often question how these zoonotic pathogens are present in their locality. In this study, we provide the first report of an tick cofeeding with a blacklegged tick, , which parasitized a Veery, -a neotropical songbird.

Extensive Distribution of the Lyme Disease Bacterium, Sensu Lato, in Multiple Tick Species Parasitizing Avian and Mammalian Hosts across Canada.

Lyme disease, caused by the spirochetal bacterium, sensu lato (Bbsl), is typically transmitted by hard-bodied ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). Whenever this tick-borne zoonosis is mentioned in medical clinics and emergency rooms, it sparks a firestorm of controversy. Denial often sets in, and healthcare practitioners dismiss the fact that this pathogenic spirochetosis is present in their area.

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada.

Lyme disease has been documented in northern areas of Canada, but the source of the etiological bacterium, sensu lato (Bbsl) has been in doubt. We collected 87 ticks from 44 songbirds during 2017, and 24 (39%) of 62 nymphs of the blacklegged tick, , were positive for Bbsl. We provide the first report of Bbsl-infected, songbird-transported in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Newfoundland and Labrador; north-central Manitoba, and Alberta.

Detection of Lyme Disease Bacterium, sensu lato, in Blacklegged Ticks Collected in the Grand River Valley, Ontario, Canada.

We document the presence of blacklegged ticks, , in the Grand River valley, Centre Wellington, Ontario. Overall, 15 (36%) of 42 adults collected from 41 mammalian hosts (dogs, cats, humans) were positive for the Lyme disease bacterium, sensu lato (s.l.

Established Population of Blacklegged Ticks with High Infection Prevalence for the Lyme Disease Bacterium, Sensu Lato, on Corkscrew Island, Kenora District, Ontario.

We document an established population of blacklegged ticks, , on Corkscrew Island, Kenora District, Ontario, Canada. Primers of the outer surface protein A () gene, the flagellin () gene, and the flagellin B () gene were used in the PCR assays to detect sensu lato (s.l.

Detection of Borrelia Genomospecies 2 in Ixodes spinipalpis Ticks Collected from a Rabbit in Canada.

Lyme disease is a serious health problem, with many patients requiring in-depth clinical assessment and extended treatment. In the present study, we provide the first records of the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus , and Ixodes spinipalpis parasitizing eastern cottontails, Sylvilagus floridanus . We also documented a triple co-infestation of 3 tick species (Ixodes angustus, I.

Prevalence of the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, in Blacklegged Ticks, Ixodes scapularis at Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario.

Lyme disease has emerged as a major health concern in Canada, where the etiological agent, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), a spirochetal bacterium, is typically spread by the bite of certain ticks.

Geographical and genospecies distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA detected in humans in the USA.

The present study investigated the cause of illness in human patients primarily in the southern USA with suspected Lyme disease based on erythema migrans-like skin lesions and/or symptoms consistent with early localized or late disseminated Lyme borreliosis. The study also included some patients from other states throughout the USA. Several PCR assays specific for either members of the genus Borrelia or only for Lyme group Borrelia spp.

Lyme borreliosis in human patients in Florida and Georgia, USA.

The aim of this study was to determine the cause of illness in several human patients residing in Florida and Georgia, USA, with suspected Lyme disease based upon EM-like skin lesions and/or symptoms consistent with early localized or late disseminated Lyme borreliosis. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays developed specifically for Lyme group Borrelia spp., followed by DNA sequencing for confirmation, we identified Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA in samples of blood and skin and also in lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) removed from several patients who either live in or were exposed to ticks in Florida or Georgia.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum in small mammals and ticks in northeast Florida.

Human anaplasmosis is an emerging tick-borne disease in the United States, but few studies of the causative agent, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, have been conducted in southeastern states. The aim of this study was to determine if A. phagocytophilum is present in small mammals and ticks in northeast Florida.

Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) and Rickettsia parkeri, United States.

Geographic distribution of Rickettsia parkeri in its US tick vector, Amblyomma maculatum, was evaluated by PCR. R. parkeri was detected in ticks from Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, which suggests that A.

Prevalence of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection among rodents and host-seeking ticks in South Carolina.

Tissues of rodents and host-seeking adult ticks collected in the Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain, and Coastal Zone of South Carolina were cultured in attempts to isolate Borrelia burgdorferi (Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner), the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. An exploratory, tree-based statistical analysis was used to identify ecological variables that were associated with spirochete infection among rodents and ticks. Spirochetes were isolated from tissues of 71 rodents: 22 (69%) of 32 eastern woodrats, 39 (53%) of 74 cotton mice, and 11(25%) of 44 hispid cotton rats.