Work

Deployment of a Reservoir-Targeted Vaccine Against Borrelia burgdorferi Reduces the Prevalence of Babesia microti Coinfection in Ixodes scapularis Ticks

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: In the Northeast and upper Midwest of the United States, Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi use Ixodes scapularis ticks as vector and Peromyscus leucopus mice as major reservoir host. We previously established, in a 5-year field trial, that a reservoir-targeted outer surface protein A vaccine reduces the prevalence of B. burgdorferi-infected ticks. We accessed ticks and mouse blood samples collected during the trial, extracted total DNA, and amplified the B. microti 18S rRNA gene. Vaccine deployment reduced the prevalence of ticks coinfected with B. microti and that of mice infected with B. microti. Breaking the enzootic cycle of B. burgdorferi may reduce the incidence of babesiosis.

Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases

DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiac462

Authors: Edouard Vannier, Luciana M Richer, Duy M Dinh, Dustin Brisson, Richard S Ostfeld, Maria Gomes-Solecki

Institutions: Tufts Medical Center, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, University of Pennsylvania, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

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

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases