Case Report: A Retrospective Serological Analysis Indicating Human Exposure to Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Spirochetes in Texas

Wilder, Hannah K.; Wozniak, Edward J.; Huddleston, Elizabeth A.; Tata, Sri Ramya; Fitzkee, Nicholas C.; López, Job E.

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003617

Cited by 23 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Proteins were transferred onto Immobilon polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes (Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA). Four weeks after transmission feedings, blood was collected from mice, and serum samples were used to probe immunoblots, as previously reported (18,19). Mouse serum samples were used at a 1:200 dilution, and Rec-protein G-horseradish peroxidase (Rec-protein G-HRP; Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA) diluted at 1:4,000 was used as the secondary antibody.…”

Section: Vector Competency Of Ornithodoros Turicatamentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector Competence of Geographical Populations of Ornithodoros turicata for the Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia turicatae

Krishnavajhala

Armstrong

López

2018

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Vector competence refers to the ability of an arthropod to acquire, maintain, and successfully transmit a microbial pathogen. Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) spirochetes are globally distributed pathogens, and most species are transmitted by argasid ticks in the genus A defining characteristic in vector competence is an apparent specificity of a species of TBRF spirochete to a given tick species. In arid regions of the southern United States, is the primary cause of TBRF. Interestingly, there are two populations of the tick vector distributed throughout this region. is a western population that ranges from California to Texas. There is a gap through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama where the tick has not been identified. An isolated eastern population exists in Florida and was designated a subspecies, A knowledge gap that exists is the poor understanding of vector competence between western and eastern populations of tick for In this study, we generated uninfected colonies of that originated in Texas and Kansas and acquisition, maintenance through the molt, and subsequent transmission was evaluated. Our findings revealed significant differences in murine infection after feeding infected and on the animals. Interestingly, the salivary glands of both tick populations were colonized with to similar densities. Our results suggest that the salivary glands of the tick colonies assessed in this study impact vector competence of the evaluated isolates.Several knowledge gaps exist in vector competence of various geographical populations of that transmit A western population of tick is distributed from California to Texas, and an eastern population exists in Florida. Utilizing western and eastern populations of the vector, we studied acquisition and transmission of two isolates. Regardless of the isolate used, infection frequencies were poor in mice after feeding the eastern population. Since salivary gland colonization is essential for transmission, these tissues were further evaluated. Interestingly, the salivary glands from both populations were similarly colonized with These findings suggest the role of tick saliva in the establishment of infection and that the salivary glands may be a bottle neck for successful transmission.

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Section: Vector Competency Of Ornithodoros Turicatamentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector Competence of Geographical Populations of Ornithodoros turicata for the Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia turicatae

Krishnavajhala

Armstrong

López

2018

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…For example, DNA sequence analysis demonstrated B . turicatae as the etiological agent in domestic dogs, and serological evidence indicated exposure of a human patient in central Texas [ 32 , 55 ]. These reports provided additional localities for O .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Geographic Distribution of Ornithodoros turicata (Argasidae): Climate Variation and Host Diversity

Donaldson¹,

León

et al. 2016

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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BackgroundOrnithodoros turicata is a veterinary and medically important argasid tick that is recognized as a vector of the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia turicatae and African swine fever virus. Historic collections of O. turicata have been recorded from Latin America to the southern United States. However, the geographic distribution of this vector is poorly understood in relation to environmental variables, their hosts, and consequently the pathogens they transmit.MethodologyLocalities of O. turicata were generated by performing literature searches, evaluating records from the United States National Tick Collection and the Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network, and by conducting field studies. Maximum entropy species distribution modeling (Maxent) was used to predict the current distribution of O. turicata. Vertebrate host diversity and GIS analyses of their distributions were used to ascertain the area of shared occupancy of both the hosts and vector.Conclusions and SignificanceOur results predicted previously unrecognized regions of the United States with habitat that may maintain O. turicata and could guide future surveillance efforts for a tick capable of transmitting high–consequence pathogens to human and animal populations.

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“…turicatae were used for SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting [28] because the strain originated from Texas and would be the closest known genetic match to species and isolates distributed in Panama. Assays were performed as previously described with 1 x 10 7 spirochetes and 1 μg of rGlpQ electrophoresed per lane [28, 29]. All serum samples were diluted 1:200 for assays.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synanthropic Mammals as Potential Hosts of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Panama

et al. 2017

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Synanthropic wild mammals can be important hosts for many vector-borne zoonotic pathogens. The aim of this study was determine the exposure of synanthropic mammals to two types of tick-borne pathogens in Panama, spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) and Borrelia relapsing fever (RF) spirochetes. One hundred and thirty-one wild mammals were evaluated, including two gray foxes, two crab-eating foxes (from zoos), four coyotes, 62 opossum and 63 spiny rats captured close to rural towns. To evaluate exposure to SFGR, serum samples from the animals were tested by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using Rickettsia rickettsii and Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii antigen. Immunoblotting was performed using Borrelia turicatae protein lysates and rGlpQ, to assess infection caused by RF spirochetes. One coyote (25%) and 27 (43%) opossums showed seroreactivity to SFGR. Of these opossums, 11 were seroreactive to C. R. amblyommii. Serological reactivity was not detected to B. turicatae in mammal samples. These findings may reflect a potential role of both mammals in the ecology of tick-borne pathogens in Panama.

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Case Report: A Retrospective Serological Analysis Indicating Human Exposure to Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Spirochetes in Texas

Cited by 23 publications

References 15 publications

Vector Competence of Geographical Populations of Ornithodoros turicata for the Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia turicatae

Vector Competence of Geographical Populations of Ornithodoros turicata for the Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia turicatae

Assessment of the Geographic Distribution of Ornithodoros turicata (Argasidae): Climate Variation and Host Diversity

Synanthropic Mammals as Potential Hosts of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Panama

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