K. Kristina Drake
Todd Esque
Nathan C Nieto
Jeffrey T. Foster
Mike B Teglas
Molly J Bechtel
2021
<div class="col-sm-8 col-md-8 article__content"><div class="article__body "><div class="hlFld-Abstract"><div class="abstractSection abstractInFull"><p>Ticks transmit pathogens and parasitize wildlife in turn causing zoonotic diseases in many ecosystems. Argasid ticks, such as<span> </span><i>Ornithodoros</i><span> </span>spp., harbor and transmit<span> </span><i>Borrelia</i><span> </span>spp., resulting in tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) in people. In the western United States, TBRF is typically associated with the bite of an infected<span> </span><i>Ornithodoros hermsi</i><span> </span>tick found in habitats at high elevations (>1500 ft). This report describes the first TBRF cases in people in the Mojave Desert (Clark County, NV). Individuals documented in these case studies were exposed to<span> </span><i>Ornithodoros</i><span> </span>ticks during excavation of soil burrows associated with Mojave Desert tortoises (<i>Gopherus agassizii</i>), with bacteria from one of the human case's blood sample genetically matching to<span> </span><i>Borrelia turicatae</i><span> </span>as determined by quantitative PCR and sequencing. Our findings should serve as a precaution to individuals working with tortoises or animal burrows, or those in contact with<span> </span><i>Ornithodoros</i><span> </span>ticks in this region.</p></div></div></div></div>
application/pdf
10.1089/vbz.2021.0005
en
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Borreliosis transmission from ticks to humans associated with desert tortoise burrows: Examples of tick-borne relapsing fever in the Mojave Desert
article