Ixodes genties erkės yra krauju mintantys nariuotakojai, visų – stuburinių gyvūnų, taip pat žmogaus parazitai. Ixodes ricinus erkės perneša daugybę ligų sukėlėjų, tokių kaip: erkinio encefalito (erkinio encefalito virusas), Laimo ligos (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato bakterijos), bebeziozės sukėlėjus (Babesia microti ir Babesia divergens). Taip pat platina ir Anaplasma phagocytophilum bakterijas. Šiuo metu erkių platinamos ligos yra dažniausios vektorių sukeliamos infekcijos Europoje. Pastaraisiais metais išpopuliarėjo molekulinės biologijos metodai, paremti patogenų nukleino rūgščių polimerazės grandinine reakcija ir RLB hibridizacija. Šie metodai laikomi tinkamiausiais, jautriausiais ir specifiškiausiais erkių platinamų ligų sukėlėjų diagnostikai. Šiame darbe naudoti molekuliniai metodai erkių platinamų ligų sukėlėjų: erkinio encefalito viruso, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato ir Babesia spp., nustatymui iš 2200 erkių, surinktų keturiuose Lietuvos rajonuose. Tyrimų metu nustatyti šeši erkinio encefalito viruso infekcijų atvejai, iš kurių penki teigiami mėginiai nustatyti Radviliškio raj. surinktose erkėse ir vienas – Utenos raj. Anaplasma phagocytophilum bakterijų infekcijos yra dažniausiai pasitaikančios infekcijos Lietuvos erkėse. Tyrimų metu nustatyti 37 (3 %) teigiami Anaplasma phagocytophilum mėginiai, iš kurių 17 (46 %) nustatyti Kėdainių raj. surinktose erkėse, 15 (32 %) – Klaipėdos, 5 (14 %) – Radviliškio ir 3 (8 %) – Utenos raj. Tarp šių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Ticks of genus Ixodes that infect livestock, deer, dogs, and a wide variety of other species including humans. Ixodes ricinus can also transmit numerous diseases including tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme diseases (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infections), babesiosis (Babesia microti and Babesia divergens infections). It can also spread Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacteria. Now tick-borne infections are the most frequent human vector-borne infections in Europe, the incidence of these infections has been on rise, and new infections have emerged. In recent years, molecular detection methods based on PCR amplification of the nucleic acids of pathogens and Reverse Line blot hybridization have been showed to be effective, sensitive and specific methods for diagnosis of tick-borne diseases. In this work were used molecular detection methods for tick-borne pathogens: tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and Babesia spp., diagnostics in 2200 ticks collected in four Lithuanian regions forests. During investigation were identified six cases of TBEV, which five positive samples were from ticks collected in Radviliškis region and one from Utenos region forest. Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacteria infections were most frequent in Lithuanian ticks, during researches were identified 37 (3 %) cases (17 (46 %) in Kėdainių region, 15 (32 %) – Klaipėdos, 5 (14 %) – Radviliškio, and 3 (8 %) – Utenos region). In these 81 % were in adult... [to full text]

Lyme borreliosis is a tick-transmitted infectious disease. The causative agents are spiral-shaped bacteria and the most common sign of infection is a skin rash at the site of the tick bite. If not treated with antibiotics, the bacteria can disseminate and cause a variety of different manifestations including arthritis, carditis or neurological problems. The disease is a zoonosis and the bacteria are maintained in nature by different vertebrate reservoir host animals. In Europe, three different Borrelia genospecies cause Lyme borreliosis: B. burgdorferi, B. afzelii and B. garinii. The latter depends in part on birds as its reservoir host. B. garinii bacteria have been found in a marine enzootic infection cycle worldwide and also among terrestrial birds. This thesis suggests that passerine birds and seabirds constitute an important reservoir for B. garinii bacteria also with clinical importance. We have found bacteria very similar to Lyme borreliosis causing isolates in ticks infesting migrating passerine birds. The birds not only transport infected ticks, but are competent reservoir hosts, as measured by their ability to infect naïve ticks. Their role as a reservoir host is dependent on their foraging behavior, where ground-dwelling birds are of greater importance than other species. When comparing B. garinii isolates from Europe, the Arctic and North Pacific, and including isolates from seabirds, passerine birds, Ixodes ricinus ticks and Lyme borreliosis patients, we found that phylogenetic grouping was not necessarily dependent on geographical or biological origin. B. garinii from seabirds were very heterogeneous and found in all different groups. Therefore, the marine and the terrestrial infection cycles are likely to overlap. This was supported by the fact that B. garinii isolated from seabirds can establish a long-term infection in mice. Bacteria from the genospecies B. garinii are overrepresented among neuroborreliosis patients. Interestingly, many clinical B. garinii isolates are sensitive to human serum and have shown weak binding to the complement inhibitor protein factor H. By transforming a serum-sensitive B. garinii isolate with a shuttle vector containing the gene for the factor H binding protein OspE from complement-resistant B. burgdorferi, serum resistance could be increased. In addition, neurovirulent B. garinii strains recently isolated from neuroborreliosis patients were shown to express a factor H binding protein, not found in bacteria that had been kept in culture for a long time. This protein may contribute to the virulence of neuroborreliosis-causing B. garinii strains. When testing B. garinii isolates from Lyme borreliosis patients and seabirds for resistance to human serum, all members of the latter group were sensitive to even low levels of serum. This suggests that seabird isolates are not capable of infecting humans. In agreement with this, B. garinii isolated from seabirds do not appear to bind human factor H.

This study was focused on vector-pathogen-host interaction. Questing ticks from field were tested for presence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and host DNA. Small rodents were trapped, ticks were collected from them, infestation patterns were estimated regarding the species and stage of ticks and species, sex and body weight of the host. Ticks aquired from hosts were tested for presence of Borrellia burgdorferi s.l. and tick-borne encephalitis virus. Both results from identification of hosts and from detection of pathogens were compared to be able to investigate interactions between host, vector and pathogen.

Orientador: Antônio de Queiroz Neto / Coorientador: Delphim da Graça Macoris / Banca: Adolorata Aparecida Bianco Carvalho / Banca: Estevam Guilherme Lux Hoppe / Banca: Natalino Hajime Yoshinari / Banca: Jairo Jaramillo Cardenas / Resumo: A Borreliose de Lyme é uma doença causada pela espiroqueta Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, cosmopolita, transmitida por meio da picada de carrapatos que permanecem aderidos ao hospedeiro por mais de 24 horas. Em humanos, pode provocar doenças articulares, cardíacas e neurológicas. Nos equinos, até o presente momento a doença havia sido descrita por meio de relatos de caso e extrapolações de sua patogenia nos humanos. Por meio do presente estudo, pretende-se pesquisar os sinais clínicos e alterações hematológicas da borreliose de Lyme nos equinos. Além disso, avaliou-se também a viabilidade de se tratar os equinos infectados com ceftriaxona sódica. Para tanto, o experimento foi composto por três principais fases. A primeira fase foi composta por um levantamento epidemiológico da doença no Estado de São Paulo, especificamente nas cidades com casos suspeitos de borreliose de Lyme em humanos. Coletou-se amostras de sangue e histórico clínico de 760 equinos e obteve-se média de 21% de soropositividade no estado. Desta fase, concluiu-se que existe grande relação entre a soropositividade, presença de carrapatos Amblyomma sculptum, presença de capivaras na propriedade, linfopenia, abortamento e retenção de placenta. A segunda fase foi composta por uma infecção experimental de dois equinos adultos com B. burgdorferi cepa G39/40. Os equinos foram avaliados durante 90 dias de infecção e foi possível verificar que os animais apresentaram sinais clínicos e alterações hematológicas inespecíficas somente nos primeiros 11 dias de infecção. Notou-se a presença de anemia normocítica hipocrômica discreta, dores musculares, palidez de mucosas, letargia e aumento de linfonodos, sinais que podem facilmente ser confundidos com a piroplasmose crônica. Durante a fase 3 do experimento, os dois equinos infectados experimentalmente foram submetidos ao tratamento com ceftriaxona... / Abstract: Lyme borreliosis is a disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, cosmopolitan and transmitted by the bite of ticks which remain adhered to the host for more than 24 hours. In humans, it can cause articular, cardiac and neurological diseases. In horses, so far the disease had been described by means of case reports and extrapolations of its pathogenesis in humans. This study aimed to investigate the clinical signs and hematological changes of Lyme disease in horses. Furthermore, it is also assessed the feasibility of treating infected horses with sodium ceftriaxone. To this end, the experiment consisted of three main phases. The first phase consisted of an epidemiological survey of the disease in São Paulo State, specifically in cities with suspected cases of Lyme borreliosis in humans. It was collected blood samples and clinical history of 760 horses that resulted in an average of 21% seropositivity in the state. In this stage, it was concluded that there was a high relationship between seropositivity, Amblyomma sculptum tick presence, the presence of capybaras in the property, lymphopenia, abortion and retained placenta. The second phase consisted of an experimental infection of two adult horses with B. burgdorferi strain G39 / 40. The horses were evaluated for 90 days of infection and we found that the animals showed nonspecific clinical signs and hematologic changes only in the first 11 days of infection. It was noted the presence of mild hypochromic normocytic anemia, muscle pain, pale mucous membranes, lethargy and swollen lymph nodes, signs that can easily be confused with chronic piroplasmosis. During phase 3 of the experiment, the two horses experimentally infected underwent treatment with intravenous sodium ceftriaxone. Already during the first application, both developed an anaphylactoid reaction moderate to severe with colic syndrome as consequence for one ... / Doutor

Host cell binding is an essential step in colonization by many bacterial pathogens, and the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, which colonizes multiple tissues, is capable of attachment to diverse cell types. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are ubiquitously expressed on mammalian cells and are recognized by multiple B. burgdorferi surface proteins. We previously showed that B. burgdorferi strains differ in the particular spectrum of GAGs that they recognize, leading to differences in the cultured mammalian cell types that they efficiently bind. The molecular basis of these binding specificities remains undefined, due to the difficulty of analyzing multiple, potentially redundant cell attachment pathways and to the paucity of genetic tools for this pathogen. Complementation of a high-passage non-adherent B. burgdorferi strain reveals that the expression of DbpA, DbpB, or BBK32, is sufficient to confer efficient spirochete attachment to 293 epithelial cells. Epithelial cell attachment by DbpA and B was mediated by dermatan sulfate, while BBK32 recognized dermatan and heparan sulfate. The GAG binding properties of bacteria expressing DbpB or DbpA were distinguishable in that DbpB, but not DbpA, promoted spirochetal attachment to C6 glial cells. Furthermore, DbpA alleles from diverse Lyme disease spirochetes exhibit allelic variation with respect to binding decorin, dermatan sulfate, and epithelial cells. Targeted disruption of bbk32 resulted in decreased spirochete binding to fibronectin, GAGs, and mammalian cells. Thus, DbpA, DbpB, and BBK32 may play central but distinct roles in cell type-specific binding by Lyme disease spirochetes. This study illustrates that transformation of high-passage B. burgdorferi strains and targeted gene disruption provide a comprehensive genetic approach to analyze virulence-associated phenotypes conferred by multiple bacterial factors.

Die sichere Diagnose der Lyme-Borreliose und der Nachweis des verursachenden Spirochäten Borrelia burgdorferi bei Mensch und Tier sind problematisch. In Nordamerika ist B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (B. burgdorferi s.s.) die einzige pathogene Spezies, während in Europa und Asien mit B. garinii und B. afzelii mindestens zwei weitere pathogene Arten vorkommen. B. valaisiana, B. spielmanii und B. lusitaniae werden ebenfalls als Verursacher der Lyme-Borreliose diskutiert. Der indirekte Erregernachweis durch Detektion von Antikörpern mittels Antigen aus Borrelienlysat im Zweistufentest (ELISA und Western-Blot) gilt seit langem trotz der anspruchsvollen Interpretationskriterien als Methode der Wahl. Ein hochspezifischer ELISA mit dem synthetischen C6 Peptid als Antigenkomponente ergänzt erst seit wenigen Jahren die Diagnostik. Das C6-Peptid basiert auf der invariablen Region 6, welche eine konstante Region des ansonsten hochvariablen Borrelien-Oberflächenproteins VlsE darstellt. Nur metabolisch aktive Borrelien exprimieren VlsE/C6 Epitope im Säugetierwirt. Studien zeigten, dass C6-Antikörper mehrere Monate nach einer potenziell erfolgreichen antibiotischen Therapie deutlich messbar und langfristig absinken. In Deutschland sind ein C6-Schnelltest (4Dx®SNAP®, IDEXX Inc., USA) und ELISA (Quant C6®, IDEXX Inc., USA) für die Serodiagnostik bei Hunden erhältlich. Über die Anwendbarkeit des C6-Peptids für die kanine Borreliosediagnostik in Deutschland liegen wenige Daten vor, aber zunehmend wird der Ersatz des Zweistufentests durch das C6-Peptid diskutiert. In dieser Arbeit sollte zunächst festgestellt werden, ob potenzielle kanine Infektionen in der Routinediagnostik mit dem C6-Peptid ebenso sensitiv detektiert werden können wie mit dem Zweistufentest und ob C6-positive Hunde nach einer Antibiose mit dem deutlichen Sinken der C6 Antikörperspiegel als Zeichen eines potenziellen Therapieerfolges reagieren. Dafür wurden 510 Sera von Hunden aus verschiedenen deutschen Tierarztpraxen untersucht, wobei neben der serologischen Untersuchung eine Analyse der Vorberichte erfolgte. Eine dort angegebene, bestehende Infektion konnte in 93,3 % der Fälle serologisch nicht bestätigt werden und nur bei 3,3 % der Hunde wurden infektionsspezifische Antikörper ermittelt. Der Zweistufentest und der C6 Schnelltest wiesen hier eine vollständige Übereinstimmung auf. Unabhängig vom Vorliegen klinischer Anzeichen wurden für diese Studie C6-positive Hunde mit Antibiotika behandelt. Vier bis 18 Monaten nach der Therapie wurde von insgesamt 27 Hunden eine zweite Blutprobe untersucht. Die C6 Antikörperspiegel waren bei acht Hunden im ELISA um mindestens 50 % gesunken. Für deutliche Effekte musste aber ein ausreichend hoher initialer C6-Antikörperspiegel vorliegen. Da in Europa mindestens drei pathogene Borrelienarten vorkommen, wurde in einem murinen Infektionsmodell analysiert, ob speziesspezifische C6-Peptide von B. burgdorferi s.s., B. garinii und zwei Varianten von B. afzelii sicher Antikörper detektieren, die durch definierte experimentelle Monoinfektionen mit B. burgdorferi s.s. N40, B. garinii PBi, B. afzelii Slovakia, B. afzelii PKo, B. valaisiana, B. spielmanii oder B. lusitaniae induziert wurden. Um die erfolgreiche Infektion zu belegen, wurden murine Gewebe zur Borrelienisolation in Kulturmedien inkubiert und zusätzlich eine qPCR zum Nachweis von ospA durchgeführt. Eine PCR zur Detektion von essenziellen Plasmiden ergab, dass die B.-lusitaniae- und B.-valaisiana-Isolate nicht infektiös waren. Eine Infektion konnte durch Gewebekultur und qPCR dagegen bei mit B.-burgdorferi-s.s.-, B- garinii-, B.-afzelii- und B. spielmanii-inokulierten Mäusen belegt werden. Die Ergebnisse des C6-Peptid-ELISAs wurden mit dem des Zweistufentests als Goldstandard verglichen und die Sensitivitäten der C6-Peptide ermittelt. Diese betrug bei C6-Peptiden von B. burgdorferi s.s. und B. garinii je 100 % für B.¬burgdorferi¬s.s.¬N40, B. garinii-PBi- oder B.-afzelii-PKo-spezifische C6-Antikörper. Dagegen konnten C6-Peptide basierend auf B. afzelii nur B.-afzelii-PKo-spezifische Antikörper zu 100 % erfassen. Antikörper gegen B. afzelii Slovakia wurden von jedem C6-Peptid schlechter erfasst als Antikörper gegen B. afzelii PKo, was das Vorkommen stamm- oder isolatspezifischer C6-Antikörperfraktionen nahelegt. Die Untersuchung der 27 C6-positiven Hundesera aus der serologischen Studie ergab zudem, dass der Großteil der Sera ausschließlich gegenüber B.-burgdorferi-C6 und B.-garinii-C6 deutlich messbar reagierte. Die Eignung des C6-Peptids in praxi als ein schneller, hochspezifischer Infektionsmarker für den serologischen Nachweis bei Hunden aus Deutschland kann bestätigt werden. Allerdings kann der alleinige Nachweis von C6-Antikörpern weder einen detaillierten Vorbericht, noch den Zweistufentest auf Lysatantigen-Basis ersetzen. Seine Eignung als Marker für einen potenziellen Therapieerfolg ist nur unter definierten Bedingungen gegeben. Die divergenten Sensitivitäten verschiedener C6 Peptidsequenzen gegenüber Antikörpern von in Europa vorkommenden Borrelien-Arten und Isolaten machen deutlich, dass zukünftig weiterer, intensiver Forschungsbedarf bezüglich der Etablierung von ausreichend sensitiven C6-Testsystemen für europäische Bedürfnisse notwendig ist.

Kleinsäuger sind als Wirte ein wichtiger Teil des Lebenszyklus von Zecken, besonders für subadulte Stadien. Sowohl Kleinsäuger als auch Zecken sind von gesundheitlicher Relevanz, da sie Reservoire und Vektoren für mehrere durch Zeckenübertragene-Pathogene sind. Ziele der Studie waren: (i) die Abundanz von Nagern, ihren Zecken und Zecken aus der Umgebung festzustellen; (ii) die Prävalenz von Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l)., Babesia spp. und Hepatozoon spp. in den Nagern und Zecken zu bestimmen; (iii) Die Ergebnisse mit denen, der vergangener Studien, in einem zeitlichen Zusammenhang zu vergleichen, um möglicherweise einen Trend in der Ausbreitung und Verteilung der zoonotischen Krankheitserreger aufzuzeigen.

Lyme disease, the most common tick borne disease in United States, is caused by the bacterial pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi. In nature, B. burgdorferi exists in an enzootic infectious cycle between an arthropod vector and mammalian hosts. Identification and characterization of the genes essential for B. burgdorferi survival throughout its infectious cycle is an important step toward understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in B. burgdorferi pathogenesis. B. burgdorferi contains a small genome, which lacks the genes encoding for the enzymes required for de novo synthesis of amino acids, fatty acids and nucleic acid precursors. Therefore, the spirochete is dependent upon the host environment for the uptake of these essential nutrients. Purines are required for the synthesis of nucleotides for the biosynthesis of DNA and RNA. Due to the lack of de novo purine synthesis, the ability of B. burgdorferi to salvage purines from its host environments is essential to its survival. While the enzymes critical for the B. burgdorferi purine salvage pathway are known, the transporters involved in the uptake of purines from the host environments are not. The work in this thesis is focused on identification of the genes encoding purine permeases in B. burgdorferi and genetic and biochemical characterization of their functions in the infectious cycle of B. burgdorferi. Here, we demonstrate that homologous genes bbb22 and bbb23 present on circular plasmid 26 encode for purine permeases, which are important for transport of hypoxanthine, adenine and guanine. Furthermore, genes bbb22-23 together were essential for B. burgdorferi infection in mice. BBB22 and BBB23 share 78% amino acid identify. And although, individually both BBB22 and BBB23 were found to be capable of purine transport, BBB22 has higher affinity for hypoxanthine and adenine compared to BBB23. Moreover, the bbb22 gene alone was sufficient to restore mouse infectivity to spirochetes lacking both bbb22 and bbb23, whereas, bbb23 was not. Nonetheless, the spirochete loads in the tissues of mice infected with B. burgdorferi carrying bbb22 alone were significantly reduced compared to B. burgdorferi carrying both bbb22 and bbb23, demonstrating the importance of the two genes together for the spirochetes to achieve wild type levels of infection. In ticks, genes bbb22 and bbb23 were dispensable for spirochete survival but contributed to spirochete replication in fed larvae. The replication of spirochetes lacking bbb22-23 in larval ticks was restored to wild type levels by the reintroduction of the low affinity purine transporter encoded by bbb23 alone. Overall, we have identified a purine transport system in B. burgdorferi, which is essential for spirochete survival in the mammalian host and contributes to spirochete replication in the tick vector. As B. burgdorferi lacks typical virulence factors and toxins, these studies highlight the critical role of physiological functions in the virulence of this pathogen. Moreover, the BBB22-23 in vivo essential transport system may represent a novel therapeutic target to deliver antimicrobial drugs to treat Lyme disease.

Lyme disease, caused by the bite of a deer tick infected with Borrelia burdorferi, has been increasing in distribution and prevalence annually throughout Maine. Worker’s compensation claims for Lyme disease have also been increasing steadily since the initial claim made in 1999. This research reviewed Maine worker’s compensation claims for Lyme disease from 1999-2011 to determine trends in state distribution and occupation type. Descriptive statistics were calculated to analyze different distributions of occupational Lyme disease. Occupations with the highest distribution of Lyme disease claims were those requiring workers to spend the majority of their time outdoors. A clear trend of claim distribution was seen, which mirrored that of the State of Maine Lyme disease case surveillance data. With the apparent increase in worker’s compensation claims due to Lyme disease and an increased geographic distribution annually, additional prevention and education efforts should be focused toward the higher risk occupations.

No description available.