Infection of Ixodes ricinus (Acari : Ixodidae) by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in North Africa
Author(s)
Zhioua, Elyes
Bouattour, Ali
Hu, Chang Min
Gharbi, Mohamed
Aeschliman, Andre
Ginsberg, Howard S
Date issued
1999
In
Journal of Medical Entomology
Vol
2
No
36
From page
216
To page
218
Subjects
Ixodes ricinus Borrelia burgdorferi Borrelia lusitaniae Tunisia LYME-DISEASE GENOMIC GROUPS SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS SP. NOV. TICKS SWITZERLAND IDENTIFICATION TRANSMISSION SLOVENIA STRICTO
Abstract
Free-living adult Ixodes ricinus. were collected in Amdoun, situated in the Kroumiry mountains in northwestern Tunisia (North Africa). Using direct fluorescence antibody assay, the infection rate of field-collected I. ricinus bq Borrelia burgdorferi sensu late was 30.5% (n = 72). No difference in infection rate was observed between male and female ticks. Spirochetes that had been isolated from I. ricinus from Ain Drahim (Kroumiry Mountains) in 1988 were identified as Borrelia lusitaniae (formerly genospecies PotiB2). This is the first identification of a genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato from the continent of Africa.
Publication type
journal article