Work

Infection of Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in North Africa

Year: 1999

Type: article

Abstract: Free-living adult Ixodes ricinus L, were collected in Amdoun, situated in the Kroumiry mountains in northwestern Tunisia (North Africa). Using direct fluorescence antibody assay, the infection rate of field-collected I. ricinus by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was 30.5% (n = 72). No difference in infection rate was observed between male and female ticks. Spirochetes that had been isolated from I. ricinus from Ain Drahim (Kroumiry Mountains) in 1988 were identified as Borrelia lusitaniae (formerly genospecies PotiB2). This is the first identification of a genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato from the continent of Africa.

Source: Journal of Medical Entomology

DOI: 10.1093/jmedent/36.2.216

Authors: Elyes Zhioua, Ali Bouattour, Chang Min Hu, Mohamed Gharbi, Andre Aeschliman, Howard S. Ginsberg, Lise Gern

Institutions: University of Rhode Island, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Neuchâtel, United States Geological Survey

Language: English

Topic: Vector-borne infectious diseases

Subfield: Parasitology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2092047005

FWCI: 2.402

Cites: 33

Cited by: 47

Related to: 10