Anderson J F, Johnson R C, Magnarelli L A, Hyde F W
J Clin Microbiol. 1985 Jul;22(1):36-8. doi: 10.1128/jcm.22.1.36-38.1985.
Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme disease, was isolated from the blood, kidneys, spleens, eyes, or livers of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) (n = 19 of 22) and from the blood, kidneys, or spleens of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) (n = 2 of 2) captured at three foci for Lyme disease in eastern Connecticut. These bacteria were cultured most frequently from spleens (n = 19) and kidneys (n = 15). B. burgdorferi persisted in one mouse for at least 60 days. One spirochetemic mouse had infected Ixodes dammini and Dermacentor variabilis larvae attached, suggesting that these ticks may have acquired spirochetes from the host. Spirochetes isolated from P. leucopus, T. striatus, and D. variabilis larvae were serologically and genetically indistinguishable from reference B. burgdorferi isolates. We conclude that isolation of spirochetes from feral rodents is a method for identifying endemic areas of Lyme disease.
莱姆病的病原体伯氏疏螺旋体,是从在康涅狄格州东部三个莱姆病疫源地捕获的白足鼠(白足鼠属)的血液、肾脏、脾脏、眼睛或肝脏(22只中有19只)以及东部花栗鼠(条纹金花鼠)的血液、肾脏或脾脏(2只中有2只)中分离出来的。这些细菌最常从脾脏(19例)和肾脏(15例)中培养出来。伯氏疏螺旋体在一只小鼠体内持续存在至少60天。一只发生螺旋体血症的小鼠身上附着有感染性的达氏硬蜱和变异革蜱幼虫,这表明这些蜱可能从宿主身上获得了螺旋体。从白足鼠、条纹金花鼠和达氏硬蜱幼虫中分离出的螺旋体在血清学和遗传学上与参考伯氏疏螺旋体分离株无法区分。我们得出结论,从野生啮齿动物中分离螺旋体是一种识别莱姆病流行区域的方法。