Ticket behavior and hosting choice explain the geographical patterns of Lyme disease frequency

A new study suggests that north-south differences in host choice, density, and host-seeking behavior may explain why Lyme disease is more common in the northeastern U.S. than in the southeast. Howard Ginsberg of the U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and colleagues present these findings in an article published Jan. 28 in the journal Open Access Biology PLOS.

A person can develop Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick that got the Borrelia bacteria in the shape of a corkscrew, causing Borrelia bacteria from another vertebra host. Although smallpox is found in both the northeastern and southeastern U.S., Lyme disease is more common among people in the Northeast. However, the reasons for this geographical gradient are not clear.

To better understand the geographical patterns of Lyme disease, Ginsberg and colleagues conducted an extensive study of tartar, their hosts, and host interactions at eight field sites up and down the eastern U.S.

The researchers found that, in contrast to northern broccoli, southern beaks seem to prefer berries as their hosts, rather than small mammals. This is special because berries infected with Lyme-infected bacteria are less likely than small mammals to pass through to other buds. Thus, a tendency to bite berries instead of mammals could help explain why fewer southern trout are contagious, and therefore fewer people are infected.

Previous research by this group has shown that southern ticks tend to stay under leaf litter when searching for hosts, while northern bricks tend to climb to the tops of leaves and branches, and perhaps making them more likely to bite passers-by. In addition, changes in tick density from north to south may help explain the gradient of Lyme disease.

These findings could help resolve long-standing debates about the causes of a north-south gradient of Lyme disease in the eastern U.S. Future research could explore on how climate change and the ecological impact of kicks and guests may affect Lyme disease patterns in the U.S. and Canada.

Dr. Ginsberg notes “Northern black-eyed peas are mainly associated with mice and other mammals, while southern berries are fond of berries, especially skins. Interestingly, this burial ground in the ecology of tick can have such an important impact on human health. “

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Peer review; Observational / experimental study

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Citation: Ginsberg HS, Hickling GJ, Burke RL, Ogden NH, Beati L, LeBrun RA, et al. (2021) Why Lyme disease is common in the northern U.S., but rare in the south: Host choice preferences, host-seeking behavior, and tick density. PLoS Biol 19 (1): e3001066.
https: //doi.org /10.1371 /iris.pbio.3001066

Funding: This research was supported by the National Infectious Disease Ecology Award EF-0914476 (http: // www.nsf.gov) with additional support from the U.S. Geological Survey (http: // www.usgs.gov). JIT, GJH, RLB, LB and RAL received NSF funding. HSG received support from the USGS. The funders were not involved in the design of a study, the collection and analysis of data, the decision to publish or the preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have stated that there are no competing interests.