Gassner Fedor, Takken Willem, Plas Carin Lombaers-van der, Kastelein Pieter, Hoetmer Arno J, Holdinga Maarten, van Overbeek Leonard S
Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 8031, 6700 EH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2013 Sep;4(5):452-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2012.11.017. Epub 2013 Jul 25.
Rodents are natural reservoirs for human pathogenic spirochaetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi complex [B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.)], and the pathogens are transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks to humans in The Netherlands. B. burgdorferi s.l. infection prevalence in questing ticks, rodents, and ticks feeding on these rodents, all sampled within the same short time span of five days in three different areas in The Netherlands, were compared in order to establish the relationship between ticks, reservoir hosts, and B. burgdorferi s.l. Questing nymphs were found in all 3 areas and numbers differed per area and even per site within areas. Infection prevalence in questing nymphs ranged between 0 and 20%. Apodemus sylvaticus and Myodes glareolus were the dominant rodents captured, and their numbers differed per area. Infection prevalence, determined by ear biopsies, ranged between 0 and 33.3% for both rodent species. Larvae were most frequently found feeding on these rodents, and their Borrelia infection prevalence ranged between 0 and 6.3% (A. sylvaticus) and between 0 and 29.4% (M. glareolus). The burden of nymphs feeding on rodents was low and varied per area with only 2 of 42 nymphs infected. Comparisons made on the basis of infection prevalence indicated that there was no clear relationship between rodents and questing nymphs when sampled within the same short time span. However, a possible relationship was present when questing ticks were sampled over longer periods in time (months) within or near the same areas (range of infection prevalence between 3.7 and 39.4). Confounding factors thus play a role in the interaction between rodents, ticks, and B. burgdorferi s.l., and it is very likely that other reservoir host species are responsible for the observed fluctuations. It is concluded that the local variations in rodent-Borrelia-tick interactions only partially explain the Lyme borreliosis risk in the sites studied and that other ecological determinants, notably vertebrate hosts and vegetation structure, should be incorporated in future studies of Lyme borreliosis risk.
啮齿动物是伯氏疏螺旋体复合群（狭义伯氏疏螺旋体）中人类致病性螺旋体的天然宿主，在荷兰，这些病原体通过蓖麻硬蜱传播给人类。在荷兰三个不同地区的同一短短五天时间内，对正在寻找宿主的蜱、啮齿动物以及以这些啮齿动物为食的蜱中狭义伯氏疏螺旋体的感染率进行了比较，以确定蜱、宿主和狭义伯氏疏螺旋体之间的关系。在所有三个地区都发现了正在寻找宿主的若蜱，其数量因地区甚至地区内的不同地点而异。正在寻找宿主的若蜱的感染率在0%至20%之间。林姬鼠和黄喉姬鼠是捕获的主要啮齿动物，其数量因地区而异。通过耳部活检确定的这两种啮齿动物的感染率在0%至33.3%之间。幼虫最常被发现以这些啮齿动物为食，它们的伯氏疏螺旋体感染率在0%至6.3%（林姬鼠）和0%至29.4%（黄喉姬鼠）之间。以啮齿动物为食的若蜱数量很少，且因地区而异，42只若蜱中只有2只被感染。基于感染率的比较表明，在同一短时间内采样时，啮齿动物和正在寻找宿主的若蜱之间没有明显的关系。然而，当在同一地区内或附近较长时间（数月）采样正在寻找宿主的蜱时，可能存在一种关系（感染率范围在3.7%至39.4%之间）。因此，混杂因素在啮齿动物、蜱和狭义伯氏疏螺旋体之间的相互作用中起作用，很可能其他宿主物种是观察到的波动的原因。结论是，啮齿动物 - 伯氏疏螺旋体 - 蜱相互作用的局部变化仅部分解释了所研究地点的莱姆病风险，其他生态决定因素，特别是脊椎动物宿主和植被结构，应纳入未来莱姆病风险研究中。
