By Linda on Jan 22, 2011 in Infections | comments(0)
Link: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=21142958&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks
Excerpt:
Abstract Thirty-two strains of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were isolated
from Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato collected from northeastern China from May to
June in 2004 and 2005. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)
analysis and sequence analysis of 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer revealed
that 29 (90.6%) belonged to Borrelia garinii, demonstrating B, C, and a
unique pattern. The remaining three isolates (9.4%) were Borrelia afzelii
with pattern D. The phylogenetic analysis based on 5S-23S rRNA intergenic
spacer showed that B.
garinii and B. afzelii genospecies clustered into two separate lineages. B.
garinii strains were classified into three different branches: All the
strains with RFLP pattern C were in the same branch, strain VH10 with a
unique RFLP pattern clustered with strains VH9 and MDH2 with pattern B, and
the rest of the strains with pattern B constitute another branch. These
findings demonstrate the genetic diversity of B. burgdorferi sensu lato
isolates from northeastern China.
By Linda on Oct 20, 2010 in Infections | comments(0)
Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20846013&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks
Excerpt:
Abstract From May until October 2007, a total of 658 Ixodes
ricinus ticks were collected off birds (189), rodents (273), and
vegetation (196) in a certain area of Middle Germany and
investigated for infection with Babesia spp., Anaplasma
phagocytophilum, and Rickettsia spp. Overall, 13.1% (86/658) of
the ticks were infected with at least one pathogen; co-infections
occurred in 0.6% (4/658).
Babesia spp. specific DNA was detected in 9.7% (64/658) of the
ticks, 1.4%
(9/658) were infected with A. phagocytophilum, and 2.6% (17/658)
harbored rickettsiae. At least two different Rickettsia species
were identified:
Rickettsia monacensis and Rickettsia helvetica. Our study
provides first interesting insights into the circulation and
co-circulation of several emerging pathogens not only in ticks
parasitizing birds and small mammals as potential reservoirs but
also in questing ticks in a single natural habitat.
By Linda on Apr 10, 2010 in Infections | comments(0)
Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pu
bmed&id=20350056&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks
Excerpt:
Dr. Robert Lane received a B.A. degree in psychology from the
University of California at Berkeley (UCB), an M.A. degree in
biology at San Francisco State College, and a Ph.D. in entomology
at UCB. While employed as a California State public health
biologist he began his long-standing studies of the biology of
ticks and the ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne disease
agents. In 1984, Dr. Lane joined the faculty of UCB as a medical
entomologist, a position he has held until the present. The
diseases he and his many co-workers have investigated include
Colorado tick fever, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, relapsing
fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and particularly
Lyme disease. Findings from these studies have elucidated the
basic transmission cycles of and risk factors for spotted
fever-group rickettsiae and Lyme disease spirochetes in the far
western United States. Bob is a Fellow of both the California
Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, a recipient of a UCB Biology Faculty
Research Award and the C.W.
