Borreliae

Molecular detection and identification of relapsing fever Borrelia in ticks and wild small mammals in China

“…Relapsing fever (RF) is a zoonosis caused by the relapsing fever group spirochetes of the genus Borrelia that have been distributed throughout Africa, Central Asia, North America and Southern Europe [ 1 ]. Typically, RF Borrelia is transmitted by soft ticks, with the exception of the human louse-borne Borrelia recurrentis , Borrelia lonestari and Borrelia miyamotoi harboured by hard ticks [ 2–4 ]. Initially distinguished by geography and vector types, the RF Borrelia used to be arbitrarily grouped into the Old World (Palearctic-Afrotropic ecozone) and the New World (Nearctic ecozone) Borreliae [ 2 ].…”

“…Typically, RF Borrelia is transmitted by soft ticks, with the exception of the human louse-borne Borrelia recurrentis , Borrelia lonestari and Borrelia miyamotoi harboured by hard ticks [ 2–4 ]. Initially distinguished by geography and vector types, the RF Borrelia used to be arbitrarily grouped into the Old World (Palearctic-Afrotropic ecozone) and the New World (Nearctic ecozone) Borreliae [ 2 ]. With recently increasing report of novel species, such as Candidatus Borrelia javanense , in total 27 RF Borrelia species spirochetes have been identified to date [ 5 ].…”