Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in synanthropic rodents in two rural communities of Yucatán, México.

Introduction: Lyme disease is a multisystemic zoonotic disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. This spirochete circulates in an enzootic cycle between the primary vertebrate reservoir and its tick vectors. Different species of rodents are known to be efficient natural reservoirs for B. burgdorferi s.l. 

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in synanthropic rodents from two rural communities of Yucatán, México. 

Materials And Methods: A total of 123 rodents (94 Mus musculus and 29 Rattus rattus) were trapped, and ear and bladder samples were collected. Flagelin B (flaB) genes and outer membrane lipoproteins ospC y p66 were amplified in order to detect B. burgdorferi s.l. presence in the samples. The obtained amplicons were sequenced. 

Results: The overall infection rates in rodents were 36.5% for flaB (45/123), 10.5% (13/123) for p66, and 3.2% (4/123) for ospC. Rattus rattus had 17.2% of infection and M. musculus, 42.5%. From all examined tissue, 11.3% (14/123) of bladders, and 17.0% (21/123) of ears were infected with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. No statistical differences (p>0.05) were found between the two tissue samples used for diagnosis. The ospC gen was 98% homologous to Borrelia garinii, one species of the B. burgdorferi s.l. complex. 

Conclusions: We concluded that rodents have a high prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. infection, and both species of rodents, M. musculus and R. rattus, might be playing an important role in the maintenance of this bacterium in rural communities of Yucatán, México.