Experimental Infection of Columbian Black-Tailed Deer With the Lyme Disease Spirochete

Abstract

The course of Borrelia burgdorferi-infection in Columbian black-tailed deer. (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), its effect on the health of these animals, and their reservoir competence for fleas were evaluated experimentally. Four yearling females inoculated intramuscularly with 10(8) organisms of the CA4 strain of B. burgdorferi, and two yearling males unexposed to spirochetes, were monitored daily for 3 mo. Spirochetes were reisolated from the blood of three does at 14 or 70 days postinjection, and from several tissues of the fourth doe at necropsy. Considerable antigenic heterogeneity was observed among the reisolates as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Only two of the four infected deer developed significant antibodies (> or = 1:128) to B. burgdorferi with titers persisting for < or = 2 mo. Hematological values were highly variable and the degree of variation observed was much greater than that reported previously for Columbian black-tailed deer or other subspecies of mule deer. Infected deer did not manifest signs of Lyme disease. On histologic examination of eight tissues per deer, we observed a minimal hepatic lesion in all animals exposed to B. burgdorferi. No spirochetes were detected in 367 fleas (Pulex irritans) that had naturally infested these deer; thus this flea probably is an inefficient host of B. burgdorferi.

Defining the Plasmid-Borne Restriction-Modification Systems of the Lyme Disease SpirocheteBorrelia burgdorferi

“…Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a zoonotic pathogen whose natural infectious cycle alternates between a tick vector and rodent or bird reservoir hosts (1,7,8,14,32,33,36). Transmission of B. burgdorferi to humans occurs through the bite of an infected tick and can lead to Lyme disease, which is a major public health concern in areas of North America and Europe where B. burgdorferi is endemic (8,53).…”

“…Our findings have basic implications for horizontal gene transfer among B. burgdorferi strains with distinct plasmid contents. Further characterization and identification of the nucleotide sequences recognized by BBE02 and BBQ67 will facilitate efficient genetic manipulation of this pathogenic spirochete.Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a zoonotic pathogen whose natural infectious cycle alternates between a tick vector and rodent or bird reservoir hosts (1,7,8,14,32,33,36). Transmission of B. burgdorferi to humans occurs through the bite of an infected tick and can lead to Lyme disease, which is a major public health concern in areas of North America and Europe where B. burgdorferi is endemic (8, 53).…”

Borrelia burgdorferi Linear Plasmid 28-3 Confers a Selective Advantage in an Experimental Mouse-Tick Infection Model

“…This bacterium survives in a complex enzootic cycle transmitted by Ixodes ticks and infects a wide range of vertebrate hosts (4)(5)(6)(7)(8). B. burgdorferi must adapt to markedly different environments within the arthropod vector and mammalian host to ensure successful colonization, persistence, and transmission throughout the natural infectious cycle.…”

Distribution of the Lyme Disease SpirocheteBorrelia burgdorferiin Naturally and Experimentally Infected Western Gray Squirrels (Sciurus griseus)

“…In northwestern California, studies on naturally and experimentally infected duskyfooted wood rats (Neotoma fuscipes), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) revealed that animals infected via needle inoculation or tick feeding did not develop clinical manifestations consistent with Lyme disease Lane 1994, Lane et al 1994). Experimental infections of mice with human isolates in the northeastern United States indicated strain differences in fitness, pathogenicity, and ability to disseminate (Wang et al 2001, Haninková et al 2008.…”