Abstract
Relapsing fever spirochetes are tick- and louse-borne pathogens that primarily afflict those in impoverished countries. Historically the pathogens have had a significant impact on public health, yet currently they are often overlooked because of the nonspecific display of disease. In this review, we discuss aspects of relapsing fever (RF) spirochete pathogenesis including the: (1) clinical manifestation of disease; (2) ability to diagnose pathogen exposure; (3) the pathogen’s life cycle in the tick and mammal; and (4) ecological factors contributing to the maintenance of RF spirochetes in nature.
Highlights
Relapsing fever (RF) spirochetes are a significant cause of disease on five of seven continents, and are transmitted by argasid and ixodid ticks, and the human body louse
This review primarily examines the ecology of tick-borne RF spirochetes in the Americas, with a focus on argasid-borne RF (ABRF)
Since the ecology of Ixodes species has been well described [64], and there is a paucity of information regarding reservoir host competency for B. miyamotoi, we focus the remainder of this review on the ecology of ABRF spirochetes and their vectors
Summary
Relapsing fever (RF) spirochetes are a significant cause of disease on five of seven continents, and are transmitted by argasid and ixodid ticks, and the human body louse. The pathogens are categorized as endemic (tick-borne) or epidemic (louse-borne), and all but two species (Borrelia recurrentis and Borrelia duttonii) are maintained in enzootic cycles with humans as accidental hosts [1,2]. This review primarily examines the ecology of tick-borne RF spirochetes in the Americas, with a focus on argasid-borne RF (ABRF).
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