Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycle
Background . In the northern hemisphere, ticks of the Ixodidae family are vectors of diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick-borne encephalitis. Most of these ticks are generalists and have a three-host life cycle for which they are dependent on three different hosts...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/043001 |
| _version_ | 1797748589618790400 |
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| author | T R Hofmeester E C Coipan S E van Wieren H H T Prins W Takken H Sprong |
| author_facet | T R Hofmeester E C Coipan S E van Wieren H H T Prins W Takken H Sprong |
| author_sort | T R Hofmeester |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background . In the northern hemisphere, ticks of the Ixodidae family are vectors of diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick-borne encephalitis. Most of these ticks are generalists and have a three-host life cycle for which they are dependent on three different hosts for their blood meal. Finding out which host species contribute most in maintaining ticks and the pathogens they transmit, is imperative in understanding the drivers behind the dynamics of a disease. Methods. We performed a systematic review to identify the most important vertebrate host species for Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. as a well-studied model system for tick-borne diseases. We analyzed data from 66 publications and quantified the relative contribution for 15 host species. Review results. We found a positive correlation between host body mass and tick burdens for the different stages of I. ricinus . We show that nymphal burdens of host species are positively correlated with infection prevalence with B. burgdorferi s.l., which is again positively correlated with the realized reservoir competence of a host species for B. burgdorferi s.l. Our quantification method suggests that only a few host species, which are amongst the most widespread species in the environment (rodents, thrushes and deer), feed the majority of I. ricinus individuals and that rodents infect the majority of I. ricinus larvae with B. burgdorferi s.l. Discussion. We argue that small mammal-transmitted Borrelia spp. are maintained due to the high density of their reservoir hosts, while bird-transmitted Borrelia spp. are maintained due to the high infection prevalence of their reservoir hosts. Our findings suggest that Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. populations are maintained by a few widespread host species. The increase in distribution and abundance of these species, could be the cause for the increase in Lyme borreliosis incidence in Europe in recent decades. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:07:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d4c368aede34431495ac9944e58d369d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:07:56Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4c368aede34431495ac9944e58d369d2023-08-09T14:17:48ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262016-01-0111404300110.1088/1748-9326/11/4/043001Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycleT R Hofmeester0E C Coipan1S E van Wieren2H H T Prins3W Takken4H Sprong5Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University , PO Box 47, 6700AA Wageningen, The NetherlandsCentre for Infectious Disease Control Netherlands, National Institute for Public Health and Environment, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The NetherlandsResource Ecology Group, Wageningen University , PO Box 47, 6700AA Wageningen, The NetherlandsResource Ecology Group, Wageningen University , PO Box 47, 6700AA Wageningen, The NetherlandsLaboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University , PO Box 16, 6700AA Wageningen, The NetherlandsCentre for Infectious Disease Control Netherlands, National Institute for Public Health and Environment, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The NetherlandsBackground . In the northern hemisphere, ticks of the Ixodidae family are vectors of diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick-borne encephalitis. Most of these ticks are generalists and have a three-host life cycle for which they are dependent on three different hosts for their blood meal. Finding out which host species contribute most in maintaining ticks and the pathogens they transmit, is imperative in understanding the drivers behind the dynamics of a disease. Methods. We performed a systematic review to identify the most important vertebrate host species for Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. as a well-studied model system for tick-borne diseases. We analyzed data from 66 publications and quantified the relative contribution for 15 host species. Review results. We found a positive correlation between host body mass and tick burdens for the different stages of I. ricinus . We show that nymphal burdens of host species are positively correlated with infection prevalence with B. burgdorferi s.l., which is again positively correlated with the realized reservoir competence of a host species for B. burgdorferi s.l. Our quantification method suggests that only a few host species, which are amongst the most widespread species in the environment (rodents, thrushes and deer), feed the majority of I. ricinus individuals and that rodents infect the majority of I. ricinus larvae with B. burgdorferi s.l. Discussion. We argue that small mammal-transmitted Borrelia spp. are maintained due to the high density of their reservoir hosts, while bird-transmitted Borrelia spp. are maintained due to the high infection prevalence of their reservoir hosts. Our findings suggest that Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. populations are maintained by a few widespread host species. The increase in distribution and abundance of these species, could be the cause for the increase in Lyme borreliosis incidence in Europe in recent decades.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/043001deerLyme borreliosissmall mammalsthrushestransmission maintenanceIxodes ricinus |
| spellingShingle | T R Hofmeester E C Coipan S E van Wieren H H T Prins W Takken H Sprong Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycle Environmental Research Letters deer Lyme borreliosis small mammals thrushes transmission maintenance Ixodes ricinus |
| title | Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycle |
| title_full | Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycle |
| title_fullStr | Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycle |
| title_full_unstemmed | Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycle |
| title_short | Few vertebrate species dominate the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. life cycle |
| title_sort | few vertebrate species dominate the borrelia burgdorferi s l life cycle |
| topic | deer Lyme borreliosis small mammals thrushes transmission maintenance Ixodes ricinus |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/043001 |
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