Blood Meal Analysis to Identify Reservoir Hosts for Amblyomma Americanum Ticks

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Allan, Brian F. ; Goessling, Lisa S. ; Storch, Gregory A. ; Thach, Robert E.
• Description:
  Efforts to identify wildlife reservoirs for tick-borne pathogens are frequently limited by poor understanding of tick-host interactions and potentially transient infectivity of hosts under natural conditions. To identify reservoir hosts for lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum)-associated pathogens, we used a novel technology. In field-collected ticks, we used PCR to amplify a portion of the 18S rRNA gene in remnant blood meal DNA. Reverse line blot hybridization with host-specific probes was then used to subsequently detect and identify amplified DNA. Although several other taxa of wildlife hosts contribute to tick infection rates, our results confirm that the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a reservoir host for several A. americanum-associated pathogens. Identification of host blood meal frequency and reservoir competence can help in determining human infection rates caused by these pathogens.
• Subjects:
  • Research
  • Amblyomma americanum
  • host blood meal identification
  • bacteria
  • white-tailed deer
  • ticks
  • reservoir capacity
  • vector-borne infections
  • zoonoses
  • Animals
  More +
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 16(3):433-440.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  16
• Issue:
  3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/17993/cdc_17993_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 172.72 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:5c5829dda5693cf790eb788453f250338195a7415198c9437f88395d879a63a8