Time to go into the light...
These are the TICKS known to carry and transmit Lyme disease
Lyme Disease Bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato, Detected in Multiple Tick Species at Kenora, Ontario, Canada
John D Scott1 *, Kerry L Clark2 , John F Anderson3 , Janet E Foley4 , Monica R Young5 and Lance A Durden6
Abstract
We detected the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), in 8 species of ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from mammalian hosts, including humans, at Kenora, Ontario, Canada. These 8 tick species include Ixodes angustus, Ixodes banksi, Ixodes cookei (groundhog tick), Ixodes gregsoni, Ixodes muris (mouse tick), Ixodes scapularis (blacklegged tick), Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (rabbit tick), and Dermacentor albipictus (winter tick). Based on PCR amplification, 39 (41%) of 94 ticks tested were positive for B. burgdorferi s.l. DNA sequencing of the flagellin B (flaB) gene of B. burgdorferi s.l. complex revealed the presence of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), which is pathogenic to humans, and causes diverse neurological manifestations in patients. Notably, we provide the first record of B. burgdorferi s.l. in I. gregsoni, and reveal a new distribution record for this tick in eastern and central Canada by extending the known range westward by 200 km. Our findings indicate that there may be a wide-ranging enzootic transmission cycle of B. burgdorferi s.l. within the ecosystem throughout the Kenora area. The health-care profession must be fully cognisant that Lyme disease is present in the Kenora area, and is a public health risk.
The Ixodes gregsoni was discovered in Canada in 1999. Unfortunately this little critter is camera shy and I couldnt find any reliable images other then this one.
Ixodes scapularis
Want to thank the following sources for these images.
http://biodiversitygenomics.net/
http://www.ticksinmaine.com/ticks/other-ticks
http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=447357
http://entomology.museums.ualberta.ca/searching_species_details.php?s=31520
Studies on species and strains
New tick species discovered in NB may result in increase of Lyme disease for 2017:
A Mount Allison University professor says the province may see an increase in the number of ticks and risk of contracting Lyme disease, in part to a new “hybrid” species she says she discovered. Global’s Shelley Steeves tells us more.
It is my hope that I will be able to provide you a visual image of this new hybrid. ASAP
Abstract
Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) gregsoni Lindquist, Wu, and Redner, a species of hard tick described in 1999 in Canada, was recovered from a harvested fisher (Martes pennanti Erxleben) and a domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus Ragni and Randi) in Vermont in 2001 and from harvested mink (Mustela vison Schreber) in Maine in 2003. These samples are the first records of this species within the United States. Although knowledge of this tick's natural history and distribution are still preliminary, these records indicate a possible greater distribution for I. gregsoni than initially perceived. Although its status as a disease vector is presently unknown, natural resource professionals should be aware of the possibility of this tick's occurrence in the northeastern United States.
Detection of Borrelia Genomospecies 2 in Ixodes spinipalpis Ticks Collected from a Rabbit in Canada November 3, 2016
Abstract
Lyme disease is a serious health problem, with many patients requiring in-depth clinical assessment and extended treatment. In the present study, we provide the first records of the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus, and Ixodes spinipalpis parasitizing eastern cottontails, Sylvilagus floridanus. We also documented a triple co-infestation of 3 tick species (Ixodes angustus, I. pacificus, I. spinipalpis) feeding on an eastern cottontail. Notably, we discovered a unique member of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) in Canada. Ixodes spinipalpis ticks, which were collected from an eastern cottontail on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), were positive for B. burgdorferi s.l. With the use of polymerase chain reaction amplification on the tick extracts and DNA sequencing on the borrelial amplicons, we detected Borrelia genomospecies 2, a novel subgroup of the B. burgdorferi s.l. complex. Based on 416 nucleotides of the flagellin B (flaB) gene, our amplicons are identical to the Borrelia genomospecies 2 type strain CA28. Borrelia genomospecies 2 is closely related genetically to other B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies, namely Borrelia americana, Borrelia andersonii, and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) that cause Lyme disease. Like some other borrelial strains, Borrelia genomospecies 2 can be missed by current Lyme disease serology. Health-care providers must be aware that Borrelia genomospecies 2 is present in I. pacificus and I. spinipalpis ticks in far-western North America, and patients with clinical symptoms of Lyme disease need to be assessed for potential infection with this pathogen.
Vector competence of Ixodes angustus (Acari: Ixodidae) for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. 2000 Jan
Abstract
The vector competence of Ixodes angustus for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) was investigated in the laboratory. The larval progeny of female ticks from Washington State were placed on Swiss-Webster mice that had been inoculated intravenously with 10(8) spirochetes each of a Californian isolate of B. burgdorferi. Spirochetes were detected in 6 (12%) of 50 nymphs derived from larvae that had fed on these animals. Ten nymphs from the same cohort of experimentally infected ticks were placed on each of 4 naive deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). One of the mice seroconverted to B. burgdorferi and spirochetes were isolated from its ear tissues 4 weeks after exposure to ticks. Further vector competence trials were conducted with I. angustus ticks from California. Larvae were fed on deer mice that had been inoculated intradermally with B. burgdoferi along with larvae of I. spinipalpis as a comparison group. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of infection in nymphs of I. angustus (8.2%) versus those of I. spinipalpis (12.1%). We conclude that I. angustus is a competent experimental vector of B. burgdorferi s.s. and its efficiency for acquiring and transstadially passing such spirochetes is similar to that of I. spinipalpis.
Detection of burgdorferiBorrelia in Ixodes ticks collected from wild-caught songbirds in far-western Canada, 2010-2012. May 2015
Abstract
Worldwide, wild birds play a vital role in the dispersal of ticks that harbour tick-borne pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease bacterium. Using PCR testing, we found 124 (31%) of 405 ticks (4 species), which were collected from 21 species of birds in far-western Canada, to be infected with B. burgdorferi. Transstadial transmission of B. burgdorferi occurred from larva to nymph, plus nymph to adult, in the avian coastal tick, Ixodes auritulus, collected from songbirds in British Columbia (B.C). Collectively, all 3 motile life stages (larva, nymph, adult) of this tick had an infection prevalence of 31% for B. burgdorferi, which suggests vector competency. A Pacific Wren was highly infested with I. auritulus immatures, and 20 (44%) of 45 ticks (2 nymphs, 43 larvae) were infected with B. burgdorferi. This heavy infestation shows the high potential to initiate a new population of ticks and to disseminate Lyme spirochetes. Epidemiologically, B. burgdorferi-infected I. auritulus larvae collected from the Spotted Towhee, Swainson’s Thrush, Pacific Wren, and Fox Sparrow suggest that these avian hosts act as reservoirs for B. burgdorferi. In this study, the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus, and Ixodes spinipalpis played a limited role in the enzootic transmission cycle of B. burgdorferi along coastal B.C. We document the first record of I. spinipalpis on a bird in Alberta. Because songbirds widely disperse Lyme disease vector ticks, primary health providers and the general public must be vigilant that outdoors people may be bitten by B. burgdorferi-infected ticks throughout far-western Canada.
Ticks parasitizing gallinaceous birds in Canada and first record of Borrelia burgdorferi -infected Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) from California Quail 2016
Abstract
In far-western Canada, gallinaceous birds are hosts of hard ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) that can carry zoonotic pathogens. In this study, we collected the avian coastal tick, Ixodes auritulus Neumann, the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls, and Ixodes spinipalpis Hadwen & Nuttall, from gallinaceous birds on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Notably, we provide the first records of these three tick species on California Quail, Callipepla californica (Shaw), in Canada. We document the first records of I. auritulus parasitizing Sooty Grouse, Dendragapus fulginosis (Ridway). Moreover, we furnish the first report of I. spinipalpis on a quail. An I. pacificus nymph was collected from a California Quail, and it was positive for the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner. Using PCR on the nymphal extract and DNA sequencing on the borrelial amplicon, we specifically detected B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), a genospecies pathogenic to humans and certain domestic animals. Since some ground-dwelling birds are involved in the enzootic maintenance of Lyme disease, veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitators, hunters, and health-care providers should be vigilant that gallinaceous birds may play a role in the enzootic transmission of B. burgdorferi s.l. in Canada.
Transmission of the Agent of Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis by Ixodes spinipalpis Ticks:
This study confirms that both B. burgdorferi and aoHGE can be transmitted by I. spinipalpis ticks and that there is a high incidence of coinfection in rodents, predominantly Peromyscus maniculatus and N. mexicana, that inhabit the foothills of northern Colorado.
Vector Competence of Ixodes pacificus and I. spinipalpis (Acari: Ixodidae), and Reservoir Competence of the Dusky-Footed Woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes) and the Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), for Borrelia bissettii
We conclude that the dusky-footed woodrat and the deer mouse are capable experimental reservoir hosts of B. bissettii, and that both I. spinipalpis and I. pacificus are efficient experimental vectors of B. bissettii.