Transmission of the Human Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia persica by the Argasid Tick Ornithodoros tholozani Involves Blood Meals from Wildlife Animal Reservoirs and Mainly Transstadial Transfer
Gabriela Kleinerman, Tom Eshed, Yaarit Nachum‐Biala, Roni King, Gad Baneth
Abstract
Borrelia persica is a spirochete that causes tick-borne relapsing fever in humans in an area that spans from India to the Mediterranean. Until now, it was thought that the soft tick vector of this infection, Ornithodoros tholozani , is also its main reservoir and it transmits B. persica mostly transovarially between tick generations.
Topics & Concepts
relapsing feverOrnithodorosTickBorreliaBiologyArgasidaeVirologyTransmission (telecommunications)Vector (molecular biology)Borrelia burgdorferiIxodidaeImmunologyGeneticsElectrical engineeringRecombinant DNAAntibodyGeneEngineeringVector-borne infectious diseasesViral Infections and VectorsVector-Borne Animal Diseases