Abstract
To determine the effect of cattle on the risk for Lyme disease, we compared the prevalence of spirochete infection in questing vector ticks collected from a pasture with low-intensity cattle grazing with the prevalence in those collected from a site on which no cattle grazed. The presence of cattle limited the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., but not B. miyamotoi, in vector ticks. The reintroduction of traditional, nonintensive agriculture in central Europe may help reduce risk for Lyme disease.
Highlights
To determine the effect of cattle on the risk for Lyme disease, we compared the prevalence of spirochete infection in questing vector ticks collected from a pasture with low-intensity cattle grazing with the prevalence in those collected from a site on which no cattle grazed
The prevalence of B. lusitaniae in ticks sampled on the cattle pasture was about one tenth the prevalence in ticks sampled outside the pasture (Fisher exact test, p = 0.025 in nymphs, p = 0.0025 in adults)
Too few ticks infected by B. burgdorferi s.s. or B. spielmanii were sampled to permit comparison
Summary
To determine the effect of cattle on the risk for Lyme disease, we compared the prevalence of spirochete infection in questing vector ticks collected from a pasture with low-intensity cattle grazing with the prevalence in those collected from a site on which no cattle grazed. Rodents and particular passerine birds serve as reservoirs for the agent of Lyme disease [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] Other animals, such as domestic ungulates, serve as hosts for the tick but fail to support the pathogen. The European Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) instituted programs to limit the growth of brush and subsequent reforestation of uncultivated land These programs target the ecotonal habitat that developed ubiquitously in Europe when cultivating marginal land was considered too labor-intensive and costly. To determine whether the presence of domestic ungulates may reduce risk for human Lyme disease, we compared the prevalence of spirochetal infection in ticks taken from an ecotonal cattle pasture to that in a site in which no cattle were permitted to graze. We determined the prevalence of the different Lyme disease genospecies in these ticks and that of a distantly related spirochete
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