White-Tailed Deer Serum Kills the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis
; 23(5): 303-305, 2023 05.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36944114
ABSTRACT
Borrelia burgdorferi is a human pathogen vectored by Ixodes ticks and maintained in nature by a suite of competent vertebrate reservoirs. White-tailed deer (WTD) are considered to be noncompetent reservoirs for B. burgdorferi. Sera from other deer species have been found to be borreliacidal, and similar mechanisms could explain the lack of reservoir competence of WTD. Therefore, we determined whether WTD serum can kill B. burgdorferi. Using an in vitro serum sensitivity assay and subculturing of spirochetes, we demonstrated that WTD serum effectively kills B. burgdorferi. The borreliacidal activity of WTD serum likely contributes to the inability of WTD to efficiently harbor and transmit B. burgdorferi.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Deer
/
Lyme Disease
/
Borrelia burgdorferi Group
/
Ixodes
/
Borrelia burgdorferi
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis
Journal subject:
DOENCAS TRANSMISSIVEIS
/
EPIDEMIOLOGIA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Estados Unidos