Differential spirochetal infectivities to vector ticks of mice chronically infected by the agent of Lyme disease

Abstract

We determined whether the infectivity of the Lyme disease spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) to vector ticks varies with the duration of infection in laboratory mice. Thus, noninfected nymphal deer ticks were permitted to feed on two strains of early (2 months after infection) and late (8 months after infection) spirochete-infected mice. The attached ticks were removed from their hosts at specified time intervals and were thereafter examined for spirochetes by direct immunofluorescence microscopy. Spirochetes can be acquired by nymphal ticks as fast as 8 h after attachment. More than 80% of the attached ticks acquired spirochetal infection within 48 h after feeding on early spirochete-infected mice. In contrast, spirochetal infectivity to ticks was less than 50% after feeding on late spirochete-infected mice. The overall infectivity of spirochete-infected mice to ticks correlated with the duration of tick attachment. In addition, there was no adverse effect on the spirochetal infectivity to ticks by high levels of host antibody against spirochetes, and no obvious differences in infectivity to ticks was observed by the site of tick feeding. We conclude that the span of spirochetal infectivity to ticks varies with the duration of infection in mice and suggest that spirochetes may persist and may be evenly distributed in the skin of infected hosts, regardless of prominent host immunity.