title: Stable Transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
abstract: The spirochaete (Borrelia burgdorferi) associated with Lyme disease was detected in questing ticks and rodents during a period of 18 years, 1991-2009, at five locations on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) was collected at varied intervals between 1991 and 2009 and examined for B. burgdorferi. The white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), house mouse (Mus musculus) marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris), marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) and six-lined racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus) were live-trapped, and their tissues cultured to isolate spirochaetes. Borrelia burgdorferi isolates were obtained from questing adult I. scapularis and engorged I. scapularis removed from P. leucopus, O. palustris and S. floridanus. The prevalence of B. burgdorferi infection was variable at different times and sites ranging from 7 to 14% of examined questing I. scapularis. Mitochondrial (16S) rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis from 65 adult I. scapularis identified 12 haplotypes in two major clades. Nine haplotypes were associated with northern/Midwestern I. scapularis populations and three with southern I. scapularis populations. Sixteen isolates obtained from tick hosts in 2005 were confirmed to be B. burgdorferi by amplifying and sequencing of 16S rRNA and 5S-23S intergenic spacer fragments. The sequences had 98-99% identity to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strains B31, JD1 and M11p. Taken together, these studies indicate that B. burgdorferi sensu stricto is endemic in questing I. scapularis and mammalian tick hosts on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Apperson
authors.affiliation: National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kakumanu
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ponnusamy
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Salger
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Szempruch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D011817:Rabbits / Q000382:microbiology; D012104:Reptiles / Q000382:microbiology; D012377:Rodentia / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: 
  Borrelia burgdorferi
  ; 
  Ixodes scapularis
  ; 
  Oryzomys palustris
  ; 
  Peromyscus leucopus
  ; 
  Sylvilagus palustris
  ; North Carolina; Outer Banks