title: First detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA in king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus halli).
abstract: The hard tick Ixodes uriae parasitises a wide range of seabird species in the circumpolar areas of both Northern and Southern hemispheres and has been shown to be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the bacterial agents of Lyme borreliosis. Although it is assumed that seabirds represent viable reservoir hosts, direct demonstrations of infection are limited to a single study from the Northern hemisphere. Here, the blood of 50 tick-infested adult king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus halli) breeding in the Crozet Archipelago (Southern Indian Ocean) was examined for B. burgdorferi sl exposure by serology and for spirochetemia by in vitro DNA amplification. Four birds were found positive by serology, whereas B. burgdorferi sl DNA was detected in two other birds. Our data therefore provide the first direct proof of Borrelia burgdorferi sl spirochetes in seabirds of the Southern hemisphere and indicate a possible reservoir role for king penguins in the natural maintenance of this bacterium. Although the bacterial genetic diversity present in these hosts and the infectious period for tick vectors remain to be elucidated, our results add to a growing body of knowledge on the contribution of seabirds to the complex epizootiology of Lyme disease and the global dissemination of B. burgdorferi sl spirochetes.
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, EA 7290, Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France. Electronic address: fredericschramm@unistra.fr.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schramm
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche de la Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, Arles, France; Université de Franche-Comté, Département Chrono-Environnement, UMR UFC/CNRS 6249 USC INRA, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gauthier-Clerc
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Charles
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC (Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs: écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle), UMR 5290 CNRS/IRD, UR 244 IRD UM1 UM2, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Karen D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, EA 7290, Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barthel
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Laboratoire des Spirochètes, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Danièle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Postic
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France; CNRS, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Handrich
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France; CNRS, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Yvon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Le Maho
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, EA 7290, Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jaulhac
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D005843:Geography; D019156:Indian Ocean / Q000453:epidemiology; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Crozet Archipelago; Epidemiology; King penguins; Lyme disease; Spirochetemia