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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2001, p. 1169-1171, Vol. 39, No. 3
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.3.1169-1171.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Transmission of Borrelia garinii OspA Serotype 4 to BALB/c Mice by Ixodes ricinus Ticks Collected in the Field

C. M. Hu,1 B. Wilske,2 V. Fingerle,2 Y. Lobet,3 and L. Gern1,*

Institut de Zoologie, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland1; Max von Pettenkofer Institut, Munich, Germany2; and SmithKline Beecham, Rixensart, Belgium3

Received 30 May 2000/Returned for modification 29 August 2000/Accepted 22 December 2000

In Europe, Borrelia garinii OspA serotype 4 has been isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients but, up to now, has never been identified among culture isolates from Ixodes ricinus ticks. This information raises the question of whether OspA serotype 4 is transmitted by I. ricinus in nature. In the present study, I. ricinus nymphs collected in an area of endemicity in southern Germany were allowed to feed on mice. Cultivation of ear biopsy specimens showed that six of seven B. garinii-infected mice were infected by OspA serotype 4. In contrast, very few B. garinii OspA serotype 4 organisms were isolated directly from the ticks which infected the mice; most isolates were B. afzelii. The infected mice transmitted mainly OspA serotype 4 to xenodiagnostic ticks, preferentially in combination with B. afzelii.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut de Zoologie, Emile Argand 11, 2007 Neuchâtel 7, Switzerland. Phone: 41 32 718 3000. Fax: 41 32 718 3001. E-mail: lise.gern{at}zool.unine.ch.


Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2001, p. 1169-1171, Vol. 39, No. 3
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.3.1169-1171.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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