Ticks transmit pathogens and parasitize wildlife in turn causing zoonotic diseases in many ecosystems. Argasid ticks, such as Ornithodoros spp., harbor and transmit Borrelia spp., resulting in tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) in people. In the western United States, TBRF is typically associated with the bite of an infected Ornithodoros hermsi tick found in habitats at high elevations (>1500 ft). This report describes the first TBRF cases in people in the Mojave Desert (Clark County, NV). Individuals documented in these case studies were exposed to Ornithodoros ticks during excavation of soil burrows associated with Mojave Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), with bacteria from one of the human case's blood sample genetically matching to Borrelia turicatae as determined by quantitative PCR and sequencing. Our findings should serve as a precaution to individuals working with tortoises or animal burrows, or those in contact with Ornithodoros ticks in this region.
Borreliosis transmission from ticks to humans associated with desert tortoise burrows: Examples of tick-borne relapsing fever in the Mojave Desert
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Borreliosis transmission from ticks to humans associated with desert tortoise burrows: Examples of tick-borne relapsing fever in the Mojave Desert |
| Series title | Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases |
| DOI | 10.1089/vbz.2021.0005 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Year Published | 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. |
| Contributing office(s) | Western Ecological Research Center |
| Description | 3 p. |
| First page | 635 |
| Last page | 637 |
| Country | United States |
| State | California, Nevada |
| Other Geospatial | Mojave Desert |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |