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Borrelia infection rates in winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) removed from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Cheatham County, Tennessee.

Article Excerpt
ABSTRACT--White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, are significant reservoir hosts of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Hard ticks serve as vectors of both B. burgdorferi and Borrelia lonestari, a species reported from the southeastern United States and associated with Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness or STARI. Winter ticks, Dermacentor albipictus, were collected from hunter-killed deer in Cheatham County, Tennessee in October and November of 2005. Six of 18 (33%) pooled tick samples tested positive for Borrelia species; two of six were identified as B. burgdorferi and four as B. lonestari. This investigation demonstrates that both B. burgdorferi and B. lonestari are present in O. virginianus populations in Cheatham County, Tennessee. It is noteworthy that D.althipictus is capable of harboring Borreliae from infected white-tailed deer. This is the first report of Borrelia detection in D. albipictus in Tennessee.

Lyme disease is the most frequent vector-borne illness in the United States (Goddard, 2001). Bites from infected ticks are followed by flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, vomiting and fatigue. Later co,plocataions can include meningitis, paralysis, irregular heartbeat, and painful, enlarged joints. Many individuals with Lyme disease develop a large red rash resembling a bull's eye at the bite location called erythema migrans. (CDC, 1997).

One-half of all United States Lyme Disease cases are transmitted to humans via the black-legged deer tick, Ixodes scapularis Say (CDC, 1997). The black-legged deer tick is found in much of the eastern United States and is a multi-host tick with larvae and nymphs preferring mice. Adult ticks prefer white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman, which serves as the primary reproductive host (Wildlife Control, 2006). Additionally, regions of lush eastern forest contain not only high populations of deer, but also of I. scapular is (Magnarelli et al., 1995). All life cycle stages of the black-legged deer tick can harbor the causative agent of Lyme disease. Humans most commonly become infected when bitten by nymph or adult I. scapularis (CDC, 2005).

The etiology of Lyme disease in the southern United States is less well understood even though cases are reported annually. Many patients present with symptoms of Lyme disease in southern states but test negative for the presence of the spirochete. Only a small percentage of southern ticks have been reported to be infected with spirochetes of Borrelia spp., however, there have been isolations of B. burgdorferi Johnson from both rodents and ticks in various southern states (Barbour et al., 1996). Another bacterium, Borrelia lonetari Barbour, has been identified from the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum (L.)) in the southeastern United States (Barbour et al., 1996). This bacterium is reported to be responsible for a condition known as Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness or STARI, since the causative agent of Lyme disease, B. burgdorferi, remains rare in...

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