Evidence for Borrelia bavariensis infections of Ixodes uriae within seabird colonies of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Author:

Munro, HJ, Ogden, NH, Lindsay, LR, Robertson, GJ, Whitney, H, and Lang, AS

Publication type:

Journal Article

Publication date:

2017-08

Journal/Series title:

Appl Environ Microbiol.

Volume:

AEM.01087-17

URL:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28802273

Abstract:

To our knowledge this is the first documentation of B. bavariensis outside Eurasia. Additionally, the bacterium was found in a marine ecosystem involving the seabird tick, I. uriae, and its associated seabird hosts. This indicates the epizootiology of B. bavariensis transmission is much different from what was previously described, with this species previously believed to be a rodent-specific ecotype, and indicates that this pathogen is established, or establishing, much more widely.