Abstract
A hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, was found to be heavily infested with larval and nymphal Ixodes ricinus in a forest park in Co. Galway, Ireland. A large proportion of the ticks that engorged and detached were infected with the spirochacte, Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of human Lyme borreliosis. The identity of these spirochaetes was confirmed by immunofluorescent assay with B. burgdorferi-specific monoclonal antibody and by polymerase chain reaction test and they were transmitted from the hedgehog to laboratory-reared ticks and from the ticks obtained from the hedgehog to gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). The high infection rate of the larvae that fed on the hedgehog in comparison with unfed larvae from the same habitat was interpreted as strong evidence that this host species is reservoir competent. Since hedgehogs can evidently feed adult ticks as well as many immature stages, they may well have an important role in the ecology of Lyme borreliosis in some habitats.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aeschlimann, A., Chamot, E., Gigon, F., Jeanneret, J-P., Kesseler, D. and Walther, C. 1986. B. burgdorferi in Switzerland. Zbl. Bakt. Hyg. A., 263: 450–458.
Barbour, A., Hayes, S. F., Heiland, R. A., Schrumpf, M. E. and Tessier, S. L. 1986. A Borrelia-specific monoclonal antibody binds to a flagellar epitope. Infect. Immun. 53: 549–554.
Doby, J.M., Lemble, C., Bigaignon, G., Kremer, M., Rolland, C. and Lambert, M. C. 1990. Borrelia burgdorferi, agent des spirochétoses à tiques (maladie de Lyme et autres formes cliniques) ches Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) en Alsace. Recherche chez 2,223 tiques. Bull. Soc. Franc.Parasitol., 8: 339–350.
Gern, L., Toutoungi, L. N., Chang, Min Hu and Aeschlimann, A. 1991. Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) hexagonus, an efficient vector of Borrelia burgdorferi in the laboratory. Med. Vet. Entomol., 5: 431–435.
Gray, J.S., Kahl, O., Janetzki, C. and Stein, J. 1992. Studies on the ecology of Lyme disease in a deer forest in County Galway, Ireland. J. Med. Entomol., 29: 915–920.
Guy, E. C. and Stanek, G. 1991. Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi in patients with Lyme disease by the polymerase chain reaction. J. Clin. Path., 44: 610–611.
Jaenson, J. G. T. 1991. The epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis. Parasitology Today, 7: 39–45.
Liebisch, A. and Olbrich, S. 1991. The hedgehog tick, Ixodes hexagonus Leach, 1815, as a vector of Borrelia burgdorferi in Europe. In “Modern Acarology”, eds F.Dusbábek and V.Bukva, Academia and SPB Academic Publishing bv, The Hague, Vol 2 pp. 67–71.
Mehl, R., Bjerknes, T., Sandven, P. and Vandvik, B. 1989. Borrelia burgdorferi i skogflatt Ixodes ricinus. Norge. Fauna Norv. Ser B., 36: 87.
Milne, A. 1949. The ecology of the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus L. Host relationships of the tick. Part 2. Observations on hill and moorland grazings in northern Europe. Parasitology, 39: 173–197.
Miserez, V., Gern, L. and Aeschlimann, A. 1990. Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks of the Canton, Tessin. Switzerland. Parasitologia. 32: 293–299.
Piesman, J., Oliver, J. R. and Sinsky, R. J. 1990. Growth kinetics of the Lyme disease spirochaete (Borrelia burgdorferi) in vector ticks (Ixodes dammini). Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 42: 352–357.
Tälleklint, L., Jaenson, T. G. T. and Mather, T.. 1993. Seasonal variation in the capacity of the bank vole to infect larval ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) with the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. J. Med. Entomol., 30: 812–815.
Toutoungi, L. N., Gern, L., Aeschlimann, A. and Debrot, S. 1991. A propos du genre Pholeixodes parasite des carnivores sauvages en Suisse. Acarologia, 32: 311–328.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gray, J.S., Kahl, O., Janetzki-Mittman, C. et al. Acquisition of Borrelia burgdorferi by Ixodes ricinus ticks fed on the European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus L. Exp Appl Acarol 18, 485–491 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051470
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051470