Investigation of tick-derived lyme disease borrelia stains isolated in Styria, Austria

english

1996

volume 5, issue 3-4

Združenje slovenskih dermatovenerologov

In Styria, Austria, several areas are known to be endemic for Lyme disease. The Borrelia spirochetes which are the causative agetn for this illness are transmitted by the tick vector Ixodes ricinus. The present study was undertaken to survey the tick population of Styria for the presence of Borrelia and to characterize the strains isolated. Ticks were collected in biotopes known tobe natural foci of tick borne encephalitis, and Borrelia were cultivated from tick extracts. Each isolate was characterized by species and from several strains, the sequence of the ospC gene was determined. Sixteen Lyme disease Borrelia strains were isolated, ten of which were further characterized. These included three Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, three Borrelia afzelii and fouor Borrelia garinii isolates. Sequence analysis of two of the Borrelia afzelii isolates and three of the Borrelia garinii isolates indicated that two of the strains have ospC genes identical to alleles previously described (RFLP types 20 and 34), and three of the genes were novel variants. In conclusion, it was demonstrsted for the first time that the three major Lyme disease Borrelia species are present in the tick population of Styria. The ospC genes of the analyzed strains howed a high dgree of variability.

16.09.2022