Ixodes dammini as a potential vector of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis

Preeti Pancholi, Chris P. Kolbert, Paul D. Mitchell, Kurt D. Reed, J. Stephen Dumler, Johann S. Bakken, Sam R. Telford, David H. Persing

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

297 Scopus citations

Abstract

Little is known about the epidemiology and mode of transmission of the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Analyses of an engorged female Ixodes dammini tick removed from an HGE patient and 101 field-collected 1. dammini and Dermacentor variabilis from three Wisconsin counties for Borrelia burgdorferi and Ehrlichia phagocytophila/Ehrlichia equi DNA revealed that the patient tick and 7 of 68 I. dammini ticks from Washburn County collected in 1982 and 1991 were positive for ehrlichial DNA; 10 ticks from the same collections were positive for B. burgdorferi. Two specimens (2.2%) were positive for both organisms. Serologic evidence for exposure to the agent of HGE or its relatives was detected in 3 of 25 Lyme disease patients from the upper Midwest. These data argue that I. dammini is a common vector for transmission of both Lyme disease and HGE.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1007-1012
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Infectious Diseases
Volume172
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1995
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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