| Author/Editor | Zore, Anamarija | |
| Title | Dokazovanje bakterije Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato v gostiteljih in prenašalcih z verižno reakcijo s polimerazo | |
| Type | monografija | |
| Place | Ljubljana | |
| Publisher | Medicinska fakulteta | |
| Publication year | 1998 | |
| Volume | str. 67 | |
| Language | slo | |
| Abstract | Spirocheate B. burgdorferi sensu lato are the causative agent of Lyme boreliosis. Lyme boreliosis is a zoonosis transmited by ticks of Ixodes genus, which hosts on vertebrates. In Slovenia, small mammals are the most important natural reservoirs. humans are accidental hosts only. The most frequent species of B. burgdorferi sensu lato found in Slovenia are Borrelial afzelii, Borrelia garinii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. Borrelia afzelii is the most frequent isolate from human material. The aim of this study was to develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assay for direct detecting of B. burgdorferi sensu lato in vectors (ticks) and in urinary bladders of reservoirs (small mammals). We collected 148 I. ricinus ticks and 47 small mammals in spring and autumn 1997 on geographic areas of Škofja Loka, Pokojišče on Ljubljanski vrh, Rakovnik ner Medvode and Brezovica near Borovnica. Small mammals were captured alive in box traps. Flagelin primers were used as a universal primers and species specific primers targeting a portion of a 16S rRNA gene were used. Indirect immunofulorescent test (IFT) was evaluated as a method for detecting infections with B. burgdorferi sensu lato in small mammals. Infection rates with B. burgdorferi sensu lato in ticks and in small mammals varied significantly between geographical areas (<0.001). Ticks were infected with B. burgdorferi sensu lato in11% to 82%. Small animals were infected in 44% to 78%. The most frequent isolates were B. garinii in ticks and B. afzelii in small mammals. Ticks were often infected with all three species of B. burgdorferi sensu lato. Small mammals were infected with at most two species of B. burgdorferi sensu lato. Bank voles Clethrionamys glareolus were more frequently infected than mice of the genus Apodemus. It seems that voles are more competent hosts of B. burgdorferi sensu lato than mice are.(Abstract truncated at 2000 characters) | |
| Descriptors | BORRELIA BURGDORFERI POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION IXODES MAMMALS OLIGONUCLEOTIDE PROBES FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TECHNIQUE, INDIRECT SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY ARACHNID VECTORS DISEASE RESERVOIRS |