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An Invasive Mammal (the Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis) Commonly Hosts
Diverse and Atypical Genotypes of the Zoonotic Pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi
Sensu Lato
#MMPMID25888168
Millins C
; Magierecka A
; Gilbert L
; Edoff A
; Brereton A
; Kilbride E
; Denwood M
; Birtles R
; Biek R
Appl Environ Microbiol
2015[Jul]; 81
(13
): 4236-45
PMID25888168
show ga
Invasive vertebrate species can act as hosts for endemic pathogens and may alter
pathogen community composition and dynamics. For the zoonotic pathogen Borrelia
burgdorferi sensu lato, the agent of Lyme borreliosis, recent work shows invasive
rodent species can be of high epidemiological importance and may support
host-specific strains. This study examined the role of gray squirrels (Sciurus
carolinensis) (n = 679), an invasive species in the United Kingdom, as B.
burgdorferi sensu lato hosts. We found that gray squirrels were frequently
infested with Ixodes ricinus, the main vector of B. burgdorferi sensu lato in the
United Kingdom, and 11.9% were infected with B. burgdorferi sensu lato. All four
genospecies that occur in the United Kingdom were detected in gray squirrels, and
unexpectedly, the bird-associated genospecies Borrelia garinii was most common.
The second most frequent infection was with Borrelia afzelii. Genotyping of B.
garinii and B. afzelii produced no evidence for strains associated with gray
squirrels. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) identified tick infestation and
date of capture as significant factors associated with B. burgdorferi sensu lato
infection in gray squirrels, with infection elevated in early summer in squirrels
infested with ticks. Invasive gray squirrels appear to become infected with
locally circulating strains of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, and further studies are
required to determine their role in community disease dynamics. Our findings
highlight the fact that the role of introduced host species in B. burgdorferi
sensu lato epidemiology can be highly variable and thus difficult to predict.
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