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Field evaluation of a novel oral reservoir-targeted vaccine against Borrelia burgdorferi utilizing an inactivated whole-cell bacterial antigen expression vehicle

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Abstract

Blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are the principal vector for Borrelia burgdorferi, among other infectious agents, in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and upper midwestern USA. White-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) are the primary and most competent reservoir host of B. burgdorferi in the Northeast. Live reservoir-targeted vaccines (RTVs) to limit enzootic transmission of B. burgdorferi were previously developed and successfully evaluated in laboratory and controlled field trials. A novel, inactivated RTV was developed to minimize regulatory and market challenges facing previous RTVs based on live bacterial or viral vehicles. Thirty-two residential properties in Redding, Connecticut, participated in a field trial of an orally delivered, inactivated RTV efficacy study (2015–2016). During the two-year vaccination period, a significant decrease in the percentage of B. burgdorferi-infected I. scapularis larvae parasitizing P. leucopus was observed, as was a significant reduction in the percentage of infected P. leucopus on RTV-treated properties when compared to control properties. This novel inactivated RTV was effective in reducing numbers of B. burgdorferi-infected I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi-infected P. leucopus on properties where it was distributed.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Redding Town Staff and elected officials, specifically Natalie Ketchum, Julia Pemberton, and Doug Hartline for their support and assistance as well as all the collaborating homeowners for allowing us access to their properties. We thank CAES staff Michael Short, Heidi Stuber, Laura Hayes, and Saryn Kunajukr for their technical assistance as well as seasonal research assistants Mark Morris, Benjamin DeMasi-Sumner, Stephanie Shea, Heather Whiles, Adam Misiorski, Kelsey Schwenk, Jarrod Bridge, Pronoma Srivastava, Magalí Bazzano, and Alex Diaz. The authors gratefully acknowledge Lars Eisen for a review of a draft of the manuscript and R. John Brooke for review of the statistical analyses. This research was supported, in part, by U.S. Biologic, Inc., Hatch Act funds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CK000182-03).

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Author notes

  1. Kirby C. Stafford III, Scott C. Williams and Jolieke G. van Oosterwijk have contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Vector Biology & Zoonotic Diseases, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Kirby C. Stafford III, Scott C. Williams, Megan A. Linske & Goudarz Molaei

  2. U.S. Biologic, Inc., Memphis, TN, USA

    Jolieke G. van Oosterwijk, Steve Zatechka, Luciana M. Richer, Chris Przybyszewski & Stephen K. Wikel

  3. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Goudarz Molaei

  4. Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, USA

    Stephen K. Wikel

Authors
  1. Kirby C. Stafford III
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  2. Scott C. Williams
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Correspondence to Scott C. Williams.

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Conflict of interest

SZ, JGvO, CP, and LR are employed by US Biologic, Inc and SKW is a consultant. The authors declare that this affiliation did not influence them and that laboratory analyses they were responsible for were blind-coded by CAES.

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Stafford, K.C., Williams, S.C., van Oosterwijk, J.G. et al. Field evaluation of a novel oral reservoir-targeted vaccine against Borrelia burgdorferi utilizing an inactivated whole-cell bacterial antigen expression vehicle. Exp Appl Acarol 80, 257–268 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00458-1

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