title: Borrelia lusitaniae and green lizards (Lacerta viridis), Karst Region, Slovakia.
abstract: In Europe, spirochetes within the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex are transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks. Specific associations are described between reservoir hosts and individual genospecies. We focused on green lizard (Lacerta viridis) as a host for ticks and potential host for borreliae. In 2004 and 2005, a total of 146 green lizards infested by ticks were captured, and 469 I. ricinus ticks were removed. Borrelial infection was detected in 16.6% of ticks from lizards. Of 102 skin biopsy specimens collected from lizards, 18.6% tested positive. The most frequently detected genospecies was B. lusitaniae (77.9%-94.7%). More than 19% of questing I. ricinus collected in areas where lizards were sampled tested positive for borreliae. B. garinii was the dominant species, and B. lusitaniae represented 11.1%. The presence of B. lusitaniae in skin biopsy specimens and in ticks that had fed on green lizards implicates this species in the transmission cycle of B. lusitaniae.
authors.affiliation: Parasitological Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia. majlat@saske.sk
authors.forename: Viktória
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Majláthová
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Majláth
authors.forename: Marketa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Derdáková
authors.forename: Bronislava
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Víchová
authors.forename: Branislav
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pet'ko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005408:Flagellin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008116:Lizards / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D018154:Slovakia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D005408:Flagellin; D045303:Cytochromes b