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Colunga-Salas P, Hernández-Canchola G, Sánchez-Montes S, Lozano-Sardaneta YN, Becker I. Genetic diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto: Novel strains from Mexican wild rodents. Transbound Emerg Dis 2021; 68:1263-1274. [PMID: 32772436 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.13780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. is a Gram-negative spirochaete, the aetiological agent of Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern hemisphere. Reports on the presence of B. burgdorferi in central Mexico have been strongly criticized, since these were based only on unspecific serological methods. Furthermore, the worldwide genetic diversity of B. burgdorferi s.s. has not been evaluated. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to confirm the presence of B. burgdorferi in the central area of Mexico and to evaluate its relationship with regard to the global genetic diversity of B. burgdorferi s.s. To achieve this, fragments of the flagellin and the outer surface protein A genes were amplified from ear biopsies of the arboreal wild endemic mice Habromys schmidlyi. With these sequences, a concatenated Bayesian analysis was performed to confirm the identity of B. burgdorferi s.s. Afterwards, the global genetic diversity of this bacterial species was evaluated using our sequences and those available in GenBank. A prevalence of 10.4% (5/48) of H. schmidlyi infected with Borrelia sp. was detected, and the phylogenetic analyses confirmed the identity of B. burgdorferi s.s. Using both genes, the genetic diversity was low. However, genetic structuring analyses revealed that populations of western United States and those from Mexico formed slightly different genetic groups, separated from the populations of the rest of the world. Our study not only confirms the presence of this bacterium in central Mexico, but also shows the most southern record of this bacterium so far. It also highlights the importance of H. schmidlyi as a new potential host of this bacterial species. Our study also provides first genetic data on an incipient process of divergence in B. burgdorferi s.s. populations of eastern United States and central Mexico.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Colunga-Salas
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Giovani Hernández-Canchola
- Museum of Natural Science, 119 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
- Colección de Mamíferos, Museo de Zoología "Alfonso L. Herrera", Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Sokani Sánchez-Montes
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, México
| | - Yokomi N Lozano-Sardaneta
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Ingeborg Becker
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
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Little S, Braff J, Place J, Buch J, Dewage BG, Knupp A, Beall M. Canine infection with Dirofilaria immitis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma spp., and Ehrlichia spp. in the United States, 2013-2019. Parasit Vectors 2021; 14:10. [PMID: 33407758 PMCID: PMC7789229 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04514-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dogs in the US are commonly infected with vector-borne pathogens, including heartworm and tick-borne disease agents. The geographic distribution of both arthropod vectors and the pathogens they transmit continues to expand. METHODS To describe the current geographic distribution and prevalence of antigen of Dirofilaria immitis and antibody to Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia spp., and Anaplasma spp. in dogs, we summarized over 144 million test results from 2013 to 2019, inclusive, by county, state, and region. Canine seroprevalence by state was compared to population-adjusted human reports of tick-borne diseases. RESULTS Results varied regionally, with D. immitis antigen and Ehrlichia spp. antibodies more frequently detected in the Southeast (2.6% and 5.2%, respectively) and antibody to B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp. most common in the Northeast (12.1% and 7.3%, respectively). Overall, percent positive test results to D. immitis decreased in the Southeast by 33.3% when compared to earlier summaries using the same strategy (from 3.9 to 2.6%). Geographic expansion of areas where dogs commonly test positive for Ehrlichia spp. was evident, likely because of a change in the test made in 2012 to allow detection of antibodies to E. ewingii concomitant with expansion of vector tick populations. Percent positive test results to Ehrlichia spp. increased in every region; this shift was particularly pronounced in the Southeast, where percent positive test results increased fourfold (from 1.3 to 5.2%). Continued geographic expansion of B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum was apparent in the Northeast, Midwest, and Upper South, although canine seroprevalence of antibody to B. burgdorferi was much lower than prior surveys in many Lyme-endemic areas. Annual reports of human cases of Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis were associated with percent positive canine results by state for the three tick-borne disease agents (R2 = 0.812, 0.521, and 0.546, respectively). Within endemic areas, percent positive test results for all three tick-borne agents demonstrated evidence of geographic expansion. CONCLUSIONS Large scale analysis of results from screening dogs in practice for evidence of vector-borne infections, including those with zoonotic importance, continues to be a valuable strategy for understanding geographic trends in infection risk over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Little
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK USA
| | | | - Joshua Place
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK USA
| | - Jesse Buch
- IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME USA
| | - Bhagya Galkissa Dewage
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK USA
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Colunga-Salas P, Sánchez-Montes S, León-Paniagua L, Becker I. Borrelia in neotropical bats: Detection of two new phylogenetic lineages. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2020; 12:101642. [PMID: 33388557 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The genus Borrelia encompasses 50 spirochetal species, several of which are pathogenic and have been detected in a wide range of mammals, especially rodents and cervids. Although the order Chiroptera is the second most diverse mammalian order, and borreliosis represents a human and veterinary health problem in endemic countries, few studies have previously reported infections of Borrelia in these flying mammals. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to detect the presence of, and to analyze the diversity of Borrelia species in several bat species from Mexico. A total of 69 bats belonging to 11 species were collected and molecular detection of Borrelia was performed by amplifying three genes using specific primers. Only five individuals of four bat species (Saccopteryxbilineata, Choeroniscus godmani, Sturnira parvidens and Lasiurus cinereus) tested positive for Borrelia DNA. We now show the first Borrelia record in Mexican bats from two different ecosystems, where previously several potential vector species of the genus Ixodes and Ornithodoros had been reported. The Borrelia sequences obtained from the bats revealed two new putative lineages, one from the relapsing fever group and the second one belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. complex, both of which are related to zoonotic species. These results highlight the importance of bats as potential hosts of Borrelia, and the imperative need of active surveillance in flying mammals in order to understand their potential role in the life cycle of this bacteria genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Colunga-Salas
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico; Posgrado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Sokani Sánchez-Montes
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico; Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Livia León-Paniagua
- Colección de Mamíferos, Museo de Zoología "Alfonso L. Herrera", Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ingeborg Becker
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
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Colunga-Salas P, Sánchez-Montes S, Volkow P, Ruíz-Remigio A, Becker I. Lyme disease and relapsing fever in Mexico: An overview of human and wildlife infections. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0238496. [PMID: 32941463 PMCID: PMC7497999 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyme borreliosis and Relapsing fever are considered emerging and re-emerging diseases that cause major public health problems in endemic countries. Epidemiology and geographical distribution of these diseases are documented in the US and in Europe, yet in Mexico, studies are scarce and scattered. The aims of this study were (1) to present the first confirmatory evidence of an endemic case of Lyme disease in Mexico and (2) to analyze the epidemiological trend of these both diseases by compiling all the information published on Borrelia in Mexico. Two databases were compiled, one of human cases and another of wild and domestic animals in the country. The analysis included the evaluation of risk factors for the human population, the diversity of Borrelia species and their geographic distribution. Six Borrelia species were reported in a total of 1,347 reports, of which 398 were of humans. Women and children from rural communities were shown to be more susceptible for both Lyme borreliosis and Relapsing fever. The remaining reports were made in diverse mammalian species and ticks. A total of 17 mammalian species and 14 tick species were recorded as hosts for this bacterial genus. It is noteworthy that records of Borrelia were only made in 18 of the 32 states, mainly in northern and central Mexico. These results highlight the importance of performing further studies in areas where animal cases have been reported, yet no human studies have been done, in order to complete the epidemiological panorama for Lyme borreliosis and Relapsing fever. Finally, the search for Borrelia infections in other vertebrates, such as reptiles and amphibians is recommended to gain a more accurate view of Borrelia species and their distribution. The geographical approach presented herein justifies an intense sampling effort to improve epidemiological knowledge of these diseases to aid vector control and prevention programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Colunga-Salas
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Sokani Sánchez-Montes
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Patricia Volkow
- Departamento de Infectología, Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Adriana Ruíz-Remigio
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Ingeborg Becker
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
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Lee SH, Healy JE, Lambert JS. Single Core Genome Sequencing for Detection of both Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato and Relapsing Fever Borrelia Species. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16101779. [PMID: 31137527 PMCID: PMC6571920 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16101779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Lyme disease, initially described as Lyme arthritis, was reported before nucleic-acid based detection technologies were available. The most widely used diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are based on the serologic detection of antibodies produced against antigens derived from a single strain of Borrelia burgdorferi. The poor diagnostic accuracy of serological tests early in the infection process has been noted most recently in the 2018 Report to Congress issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. Clinical Lyme disease may be caused by a diversity of borreliae, including those classified as relapsing fever species, in the United States and in Europe. It is widely accepted that antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease is most successful during this critical early stage of infection. While genomic sequencing is recognized as an irrefutable direct detection method for laboratory diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis, development of a molecular diagnostic tool for all clinical forms of borreliosis is challenging because a “core genome” shared by all pathogenic borreliae has not yet been identified. After a diligent search of the GenBank database, we identified two highly conserved segments of DNA sequence among the borrelial 16S rRNA genes. We further developed a pair of Borrelia genus-specific PCR primers for amplification of a segment of borrelial 16S rRNA gene as a “core genome” to be used as the template for routine Sanger sequencing-based metagenomic direct detection test. This study presented examples of base-calling DNA sequencing electropherograms routinely generated in a clinical diagnostic laboratory on DNA extracts of human blood specimens and ticks collected from human skin bites and from the environment. Since some of the tick samples tested were collected in Ireland, borrelial species or strains not known to exist in the United States were also detected by analysis of this 16S rRNA “core genome”. We recommend that hospital laboratories located in Lyme disease endemic areas begin to use a “core genome” sequencing test to routinely diagnose spirochetemia caused by various species of borreliae for timely management of patients at the early stage of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sin Hang Lee
- Milford Molecular Diagnostics, Milford, CT 06460, USA.
| | - John Eoin Healy
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, T23 N73K Cork, Ireland.
| | - John S Lambert
- Department of medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland.
- Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, D07 R2WY Dublin, Ireland.
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Stone BL, Tourand Y, Brissette CA. Brave New Worlds: The Expanding Universe of Lyme Disease. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017; 17:619-629. [PMID: 28727515 DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2017.2127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Projections around the globe suggest an increase in tick-vectored disease incidence and distribution, and the potential for emergence of novel tick-borne pathogens. Lyme disease is the most common reported tick-borne illness in the Unites States and is prevalent throughout much of central Europe. In recent years, the worldwide burden of Lyme disease has increased and extended into regions and countries where the disease was not previously reported. In this review, we discuss the trends for increasing Lyme disease, and examine the factors driving Lyme disease expansion, including the effect of climate change on the spread of vector Ixodid ticks and reservoir hosts; and the impacts of increased awareness on disease reporting and diagnosis. To understand the growing threat of Lyme disease, we need to study the interplay between vector, reservoir, and pathogen. In addition, we need to understand the contributions of climate conditions to changes in disease risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandee L Stone
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences , Grand Forks, North Dakota
| | - Yvonne Tourand
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences , Grand Forks, North Dakota
| | - Catherine A Brissette
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences , Grand Forks, North Dakota
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