Isolation of the spirochaete Borrelia afzelii from the mosquito Aedes vexans in the Czech Republic |
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| Authors: | HALOUZKA POSTIC & HUBÁLEK |
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| Institution: | Institute of Landscape Ecology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic,;Pasteur Institute, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France |
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| Abstract: | During the years 1993–1995, a total of 3580 culicine mosquitoes of six species were collected in South Moravia, Czech Republic, and examined by dark-field microscopy for the presence of borreliae. Females of Aedes cantans , Ae. sticticus , Ae. vexans , Culex pipiens and Cx pipiens biotype molestus (but not Ae. geniculatus or Culiseta annulata ) harboured spirochaetes, the frequencies ranging from 0.7% to 7.8%. One isolate (BR-53) from Ae. vexans was identified as Borrelia afzelii genospecies. The potential role of mosquitoes in the epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis should be investigated. |
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