title: Co-Feeding Transmission of the Ehrlichia muris-Like Agent to Mice (Mus musculus).
abstract: The Ehrlichia muris-like agent (EMLA) is a newly recognized human pathogen found in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Ecological investigations have implicated both the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, as playing roles in the maintenance of EMLA in nature. The work presented here shows that I. scapularis is an efficient vector of EMLA in a laboratory mouse model, but that Dermacentor variabilis, another frequent human biting tick found in EMLA endemic areas, is not. Additionally, I. scapularis larvae are able to acquire EMLA through co-feeding with infected nymphs. As EMLA only persists in mouse blood for a relatively short period of time, co-feeding transmission may play an important role in the maintenance of EMLA in ticks, and subsequently may play a role in limiting the geographic distribution of this pathogen in areas where co-feeding of larvae and nymphs is less common.
authors.affiliation: 1 Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , Atlanta, Georgia .
authors.forename: Sandor E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Karpathy
authors.affiliation: 1 Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , Atlanta, Georgia .
authors.forename: Michelle E J
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Allerdice
authors.affiliation: 1 Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , Atlanta, Georgia .
authors.forename: Mili
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sheth
authors.affiliation: 1 Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , Atlanta, Georgia .
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Dasch
authors.affiliation: 1 Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , Atlanta, Georgia .
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Levin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000502:physiology*; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D007814:Larva; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009758:Nymph; D010542:Peromyscus / Q000382:microbiology*; D011817:Rabbits; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000382:microbiology*; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Co-feeding; Ehrlichia muris–like agent (EMLA); Ixodes scapularis; Peromyscus leucopus; Transmission
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