(1) Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab., 1, 199034 St Petersburg, Russia;(2) Martzinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Malaja Pirogovskaya, 20, 119435 Moscow, Russia
Abstract:
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was detected in one out of five cement plugs of female Ixodes persulcatus ticks. The spirochetes were found by dark field microscopy as early as 18 h after attachment of the ticks to the skin of a white mouse. The relevance of this finding is discussed in relation to the epidemiology of Lyme Borreliosis.