Identifying the Reservoir Hosts of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in California: The Role of the Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)

Salkeld, Daniel J.; Leonhard, Sarah; Girard, Yvette A.; Hahn, Nina; Mun, Jeomhee; Padgett, Kerry A.; Lane, Robert S.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2008.79.535

Cited by 67 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…shrews), but in such low numbers and tick burdens [25] that they were not included in our analyses of tick burden. The western grey squirrel (S. griseus) is a potentially important reservoir but was not encountered in our study and has been difficult to trap by others on our sites [16]. Therefore, the remainder of this study focuses on N. fuscipes and P. maniculatus as unmanipulated tick hosts.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the experimental removal of lizards on Lyme disease risk

Swei¹,

Ostfeld

Lane

et al. 2011

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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The distribution of vector meals in the host community is an important element of understanding and predicting vector-borne disease risk. Lizards (such as the western fence lizard; Sceloporus occidentalis) play a unique role in Lyme disease ecology in the far-western United States. Lizards rather than mammals serve as the blood meal hosts for a large fraction of larval and nymphal western black-legged ticks (Ixodes pacificus-the vector for Lyme disease in that region) but are not competent reservoirs for the pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi. Prior studies have suggested that the net effect of lizards is to reduce risk of human exposure to Lyme disease, a hypothesis that we tested experimentally. Following experimental removal of lizards, we documented incomplete host switching by larval ticks (5.19%) from lizards to other hosts. Larval tick burdens increased on woodrats, a competent reservoir, but not on deer mice, a less competent pathogen reservoir. However, most larvae failed to find an alternate host. This resulted in significantly lower densities of nymphal ticks the following year. Unexpectedly, the removal of reservoir-incompetent lizards did not cause an increase in nymphal tick infection prevalence. The net result of lizard removal was a decrease in the density of infected nymphal ticks, and therefore a decreased risk to humans of Lyme disease. Our results indicate that an incompetent reservoir for a pathogen may, in fact, increase disease risk through the maintenance of higher vector density and therefore, higher density of infected vectors.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the experimental removal of lizards on Lyme disease risk

Swei¹,

Ostfeld

Lane

et al. 2011

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Though larvae and nymphs parasitise 38 different species of mammals in California, two species of lizards are primary hosts for immatures (Castro and Wright 2007). Squirrels may also be important hosts (and pathogen reservoirs) for I. pacificus larvae and nymphs (Nieto and Foley 2008;Salkeld et al 2008). Ixodes pacificus larvae and nymphs have also been reported from many species of passeriform birds (Castro and Wright 2007), with some species having a prominent role as hosts and reservoirs for pathogens (Eisen et al 2004;Wright et al 2006).…”

Section: Natural Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biological Survey of Canada: A Personal History

Danks¹

2017

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“…1 (44). Duskyfooted wood rats and western gray squirrels, not mice, serve as the primary reservoir hosts, and I. pacificus and the non-human-biter I. spinipalpis (formerly Ixodes neotomae) maintain B. burgdorferi and B. bissettii, respectively, in overlapping but discrete enzootic cycles in California (6,7,24,26,59). Isolates of B. burgdorferi from California exhibit considerable heterogeneity, and some isolates differ strikingly from isolates recovered from this and other geographic regions (6,7).…”

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confidence: 99%