The role of rodents in the maintenance of the east African tick-borne relapsing fever aetiological agent, Borrelia duttonii
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Date
2003
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Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
A total of 250 rodents, 251 adult and nymph ticks and seven human blood samples
were collected from Mvumi township in Dodoma region, Tanzania, between
November, 2001 and February, 2002, and analysed for the presence of the tick-borne
relapsing fever agent (TBRF), Borrelia duttonii. Cultures of the spirochetes were
made in Barbour-Stoenner-Kellys (BSK-II) medium, and molecular characterization
of the spirochetes was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Spirochete cultures
were successfully grown from two out of the seven human blood samples. No
spirochetes grew in either of the cultures of the rodent blood or the tick haemolymph
and crushed tick samples. These samples were negative for spirochetes by staining
and direct microscopy. PCR detected Borrelia DNA from two of the seven human
blood samples, and from one of either rodent (Rat t us rattus), and tick samples. This
is the first study on the possibility of rodents playing a role in the transmission of
Borrelia spp in Tanzania. The detection of Borrelia DNA in rodents originating from
this TBRF endemic area suggests the possibility of rodents playing a role in the
maintenance of the TBRF agent, B. duttonii. Since it is generally accepted that only
humans are the reservoirs of B. duttonii, this study calls for further investigation to
determine the importance of commensal rodents and other mammals in the
epidemiology of relapsing fever in Tanzania.
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Keywords
Rodents, Tick-borne, Aetiological agent, Borrelia duttonii