Journal
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 41, Issue 8, Pages 3829-3834Publisher
AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.8.3829-3834.2003
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [R01 AI044005, R01 AI44005] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Whether arthropod vectors retain competence for transmission of infectious agents in the long-term absence of vector-pathogen interaction is unknown. We addressed this question by quantifying the vector competence of two tick vectors, with mutually exclusive tropical- versus temperate-region distributions, for genetically distinct tropical- and temperate-region strains of the cattle pathogen Anaplasma marginale. The tropical cattle tick Boophilus microplus, which has been eradicated from the continental United States for over 60 years, was able to acquire and transmit the temperate St. Maries (Idaho) strain of A. marginale. Similarly, the temperate-region tick Dermacentor andersoni efficiently acquired and transmitted the Puerto Rico strain of A. marginale. There were no significant quantitative differences in infection rate or number of organisms per tick following feeding on cattle with persistent infections of either A. marginale strain. In contrast, the significantly enhanced replication of the Puerto Rico strain in the salivary gland of B. microplus at the time of transmission feeding is consistent with adaptation of a pathogen strain to its available vector. However, the transmission of both strains by B. microplus demonstrates that adaptation or continual interaction between the pathogen and vector is not required for retention of vector competence. Importantly, the results clearly show that reestablishment of acaricide-resistant B. microplus in the United States would be associated with A. marginale transmission.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available