The Lyme Disease Network
Medical / Scientific Abstract


Title:Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in Ixodes scapularis in a rural New Jersey County.
Authors:Varde S, Beckley J, Schwartz I
Source:Emerg Infect Dis 1998 Jan-Mar;4(1):97-9
EID Home Page: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm
Organization:New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA.

Abstract:
To assess the potential risk for other tick-borne diseases, we collected 100 adult Ixodes scapularis in Hunterdon County, a rapidly developing rural county in Lyme disease endemic western New Jersey. We tested the ticks by polymerase chain reaction for Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia microti, and the rickettsial agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Fifty-five ticks were infected with at least one of the three pathogens: 43 with B. burgdorferi, five with B. microti, and 17 with the HGE agent. Ten ticks were coinfected with two of the pathogens. The results suggest that county residents are at considerable risk for infection by a tick-borne pathogen after an I. scapularis bite.

Keywords:
Animal, Babesia, GENETICS, ISOLATION & PURIF, Borrelia burgdorferi, GENETICS, ISOLATION & PURIF, DNA, Bacterial, ANALYSIS, Human, Ixodes, MICROBIOLOGY, New Jersey, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Prevalence, Rickettsia, GENETICS, ISOLATION & PURIF, Rural Population, Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Language: Eng

Unique ID: 98123023


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