Lyme Information Includes Noting Bartonella Species Are Exploding and Testing Is Outdated

Detection of Bartonella tamiae-Like Sequences in Amblyomma americanum or the "Lone Star" Tick which Seeks Out People to Bite is Now Found Throughout the USA. This Tick Also Infects CHildren and Adults with Lyme Disease

Four hundred and sixty-six questing Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) from Carolina County, VA, and 98 questing A. americanum from Chatham County, NC, were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the Bartonella 16S-23S intergenic spacer region.

Two amplicons, 270-280 bp, were detected in two ticks from Virginia.

Based upon PCR and sequencing, an adult male and adult female tick harbored DNA sequences closely related to Bartonella tamiae (DQ395180). Bartonella DNA was not detected in A. americanum from North Carolina. Potential transmission of Bartonella spp. by A. americanum should be the focus of future experimental studies.

Billeter, Sarah A.; Miller, Melissa K.; Breitschwerdt, Edward B.; Levy, Michael G.

Journal of Medical Entomology, Volume 45, Number 1, January 2008 , pp. 176-179