Seasonal variations in detecting Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in rodents from north eastern Austria.

Austria is well known as an endemic area of Lyme borreliosis. To assess the annual variation of rodent populations that may host agents of Lyme borreliosis we collected rodents in northeastern Austria. Life traps were set out every six weeks during a year consecutively in one each of the three different zones (Hohenau, Ernstbrunn, Vienna Woods) that cover the main habitat characteristics of small mammals in northeastern Austria.

Prevalence of coinfection with Francisella tularensis in reservoir animals of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.

Introduction And Purpose: Studies on Lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne zoonoses in the Austrian and Slovakian borderland, a region endemic for tularemia, revealed a relatively high prevalence of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and Francisella tularensis in small terrestrial mammals, as well as in the ticks, during a one-year survey.