Is the Lone Star tick, Amblyomma americanum, known to carry Lyme disease?

An Annotated Bibliography

Found Lyme disease in Lone Star tick.

* TITLE:
Prevalence of infection in ticks submitted to the human tick test kit program of the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine.
AUTHORS:
Stromdahl EY, Evans SR, O'Brien JJ, Gutierrez AG
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Entomological Sciences Program, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5403, USA.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 2001 Jan;38(1):67-74
"In 1997, ticks removed from humans and received alive by the Tick-Borne Disease Laboratory of the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) were tested for pathogens by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thirty-three of 222 (15%) Amblyomma americanum (L.) DNAs produced amplicons of the expected size of Ehrlichia chaffeensis Anderson, Dawson & Wilson and 26/222 (12%) produced amplicons indicating Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigalt & Brenner."

* TITLE:
Physician-diagnosed erythema migrans and erythema migrans-like rashes following Lone Star tick bites.
AUTHORS:
Masters E; Granter S; Duray P; Cordes P
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Regional Primary Care, Cape Girardeau, Mo, USA.
SOURCE:
Arch Dermatol 1998 Aug;134(8):955-60
"CONCLUSIONS: Lone Star ticks are associated with rashes that are similar, if not identical, to erythema migrans associated with borrelial infection. The recent isolation and cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi from ticks (including 1 Lone Star tick) from the farm of a patient included in this report has raised the possibility that Lone Star ticks are "bridge vectors" for human borrelial infection. Although further investigation is needed, these rashes may be secondary to spirochetal infection."

* TITLE:
First isolation and cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato from Missouri.
AUTHORS:
Oliver JH Jr; Kollars TM Jr; Chandler FW Jr; James AM; Masters EJ; Lane RS; Huey LO
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro 30460-8056, USA. [email protected]
SOURCE:
J Clin Microbiol 1998 Jan;36(1):1-5
"Five Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates from Missouri are described. This represents the first report and characterization of such isolates from that state. The isolates were obtained from either Ixodes dentatus or Amblyomma americanum ticks that had been feeding on cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) from a farm in Bollinger County, Mo., where a human case of Lyme disease had been reported. ...Although some genetic variability was detected among the five isolates as well as between them and the B-31 strain, enough similarities were found to classify them as B. burgdorferi sensu lato."

* TITLE:
Tick-raccoon associations and the potential for Lyme disease spirochete transmission in the coastal plain of North Carolina.
AUTHORS:
Ouellette J; Apperson CS; Howard P; Evans TL; Levine JF
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7647, USA.
SOURCE:
J Wildl Dis 1997 Jan;33(1):28-39
"Raccoons (Procyon lotor) were live-trapped and examined for ticks from July 1990 to July 1993 in the coastal plain of North Carolina on Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (USA). ...Spirochetes, Borrelia burgdorferi, were identified in a small percentage (0.2%) of host- seeking A. americanum nymphs and adults, and I. scapularis adults by immunofluorescent antibody assays. Similarly, a small percentage (1.9%) of host-associated A. americanum, D. variabilis, I. texanus and I. cookei contained B. burgdorferi. Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes were cultured from the blood of 23 (26%) of 87 raccoons."

* TITLE:
Borrelia burgdorferi in eastern Virginia: comparison between a coastal and inland locality.
AUTHORS:
Sonenshine DE; Ratzlaff RE; Troyer J; Demmerle S; Demmerle ER; Austin WE; Tan S; Annis BA; Jenkins S
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
SOURCE:
Am J Trop Med Hyg 1995 Aug;53(2):123-33
"Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes were found in I. scapularis and a single nymph of Amblyomma americanum, but not in any of numerous specimens of four other species."

* TITLE:
Evidence supporting the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Missouri.
AUTHORS:
Feir D; Santanello CR; Li BW; Xie CS; Masters E; Marconi R; Weil G
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Biology, St. Louis University, Missouri.
SOURCE:
Am J Trop Med Hyg 1994 Oct;51(4):475-82
"Spirochetes were detected and identified as B. burgdorferi by immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) tests using the monoclonal antibody H5332 in 1.9% of Amblyomma americanum and 2.0% of Dermacentor variabilis ticks collected. ...These results confirm that B. burgdorferi is present in questing D. variabilis and A. americanum ticks in areas of Missouri where Lyme disease occurs."

* TITLE:
Inability of Ixodes cookei and Amblyomma americanum nymphs (Acari: Ixodidae) to transmit Borrelia burgdorferi.
AUTHORS:
Ryder JW; Pinger RR; Glancy T
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Physiology and Health Science, College of Sciences and Humanities, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306-0510.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 1992 May;29(3):525-30
"The vector competency of Ixodes cookei Packard and Amblyomma americanum (L.) for Borrelia burgdorferi was studied using Syrian hamsters. ...1 of 60 (1.7%) A. americanum nymphs was found positive for B. burgdorferi."

* TITLE:
Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from coastal Virginia.
AUTHORS:
Levine JF; Sonenshine DE; Nicholson WL; Turner RT
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Microbiology, Pathology, and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27606.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 1991 Sep;28(5):668-74
"B. burgdorferi was evident in ...four (6%) Amblyomma americanum (L.) removed from raccoons;..."

* TITLE:
Etiologic agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, detected in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected at a focus in Alabama.
AUTHORS:
Luckhart S; Mullen GR; Wright JC
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Entomology, Auburn University, Alabama 36849-5413.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 1991 Sep;28(5):652-7
"The study was conducted at sites of known transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi in east central Alabama. The objectives were to determine species of ticks present at these sites, their host associations, and species of ticks and small mammals naturally infected with B. burgdorferi. ...Spirochetes were detected in four nymphal and two adult A. americanum recovered from white-tailed deer ..."

* TITLE:
Isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi from arthropods collected in Texas.
AUTHORS:
Teltow GJ; Fournier PV; Rawlings JA
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Microbiological Services Division, Bureau of Laboratories, Texas Department of Health, Austin.
SOURCE:
Am J Trop Med Hyg 1991 May;44(5):469-74
"The Texas Department of Health Laboratory cultured arthropods from November 1988 through December 1989 in an attempt to isolate Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. Spirochetes were isolated from eight of 1,093 pools of arthropods cultured. The spirochetal isolates were from several tick and one flea species, including Amblyomma americanum, A. maculatum, Ixodes scapularis, and Ctenocephalides felis. These 8 isolates reacted specifically when treated with monoclonal antibodies to B. burgdorferi. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of six lysates showed them to be virtually identical with strain B31 of B. burgdorferi."

* TITLE:
Comparison of rates of infection by the Lyme disease spirochete in selected populations of Ixodes dammini and Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae).
AUTHORS:
Schulze TL; Lakat MF; Parkin WE; Shisler JK; Charette DJ; Bosler EM
SOURCE:
Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg [A] 1986 Dec;263(1-2):72-8
"At a major endemic focus in New Jersey,... Borrelia burgdorferi also infected all active stages of Amblyomma americanum ticks."

* TITLE:
Spirochetes in ticks and antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in white- tailed deer from Connecticut, New York State, and North Carolina.
AUTHORS:
Magnarelli LA; Anderson JF; Apperson CS; Fish D; Johnson RC; Chappell WA
SOURCE:
J Wildl Dis 1986 Apr;22(2):178-88
"Ticks were screened for spirochetes and serum samples from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were assayed for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi during 1983-1984. Using fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled rabbit antibodies produced to B. burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, spirochetes were detected in... and Amblyomma americanum (3.5% of 173) adults from North Carolina."

* TITLE:
Surveillance of Lyme disease in the United States, 1982.
AUTHORS:
Schmid GP; Horsley R; Steere AC; Hanrahan JP; Davis JP; Bowen GS; Osterholm MT; Weisfeld JS; Hightower AW; Broome CV
SOURCE:
J Infect Dis 1985 Jun;151(6):1144-9
"The occurrence of Lyme disease in areas outside the currently recognized endemic regions, as well as the recent description of Amblyomma americanum as a probable vector, suggest that additional vectors may be described in the future."

* TITLE:
The global distribution of Lyme disease.
AUTHORS:
Schmid GP
SOURCE:
Rev Infect Dis 1985 Jan-Feb;7(1):41-50
"...this suggests that cases may be more widely distributed than is currently recognized and that other vectors may be involved. Supporting this suggestion is the description in 1982 of Lyme disease in Australia, where none of the currently recognized vectors are known to exist, and the report in 1984 that Ambylomma americanum ticks can harbor the spirochete that causes Lyme disease."

* TITLE:
Amblyomma americanum: a potential vector of Lyme disease in New Jersey.
AUTHORS:
Schulze TL; Bowen GS; Bosler EM; Lakat MF; Parkin WE; Altman R; Ormiston BG; Shisler JK
SOURCE:
Science 1984 May 11;224(4649):601-3
ABSTRACT:
"Amblyomma americanum is a likely secondary vector of Lyme disease in New Jersey. Ticks of this species were removed from the site of the characteristic skin lesion known as erythema chronicum migrans on two patients with the disease, and the Lyme disease spirochete was isolated from nymphs and adults of this species. That A. americanum is a potential vector is supported by its similarities to Ixodes dammini, the known tick vector, in seasonal distribution and host utilization. The extensive range of A. americanum may have great implications for potential Lyme disease transmission outside known endemic areas."

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Did not find Lyme disease in Lone Star tick.

* TITLE:
Erythema migrans-like rash illness at a camp in North Carolina: a new tick-borne disease? [see comments]
AUTHORS:
Kirkland KB; Klimko TB; Meriwether RA; Schriefer M; Levin M; Levine J; Mac Kenzie WR; Dennis DT
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Epidemic Intelligence Service, and Division of Field Epidemiology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
SOURCE:
Arch Intern Med 1997 Dec 8-22;157(22):2635-41
COMMENT:
Comment in: Arch Intern Med 1998 Oct 26;158(19):2162-5
"CONCLUSIONS: This investigation suggests the existence of a new tick- associated rash illness. We suspect that the disease agent is carried by A. americanum ticks. In the southern United States, EM-like rash illness should no longer be considered definitive evidence of early Lyme disease."

* TITLE:
New distribution records of Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) in New York State.
AUTHORS:
Means RG; White DJ
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
New York State Department of Health, Albany 12237, USA.
SOURCE:
J Vector Ecol 1997 Dec;22(2):133-45
"With a demonstrated expansion of geographic distribution, continued surveillance of A. americanum is of great public health importance. Besides being a severe pest where abundant, this species is a probable vector of human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), and a suspected vector of Borrelia lonestari, the etiologic agent of a Lyme disease-like illness."

* TITLE:
Ability of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi to infect rodents and three species of human-biting ticks (blacklegged tick, American dog tick, lone star tick) (Acari:Ixodidae).
AUTHORS:
Piesman J; Happ CM
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO 80522, USA.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 1997 Jul;34(4):451-6
"The infectivity of a diverse collection of Borrelia burgdorferi strains from North America for mice was determined as a prelude to vector competence experiments with the 3 primary human-biting tick species in the eastern United States (Ixodes scapularis Say, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), Amblyomma americanum (L.)]. ...A. americanum larvae were completely refractory to infection with these 2 southern B. burgdorferi strains. ...In all these experiments, I. scapularis was the only species that proved to be vector competent for B. burgdorferi."

* TITLE:
Identification of an uncultivable Borrelia species in the hard tick Amblyomma americanum: possible agent of a Lyme disease-like illness.
AUTHORS:
Barbour AG; Maupin GO; Teltow GJ; Carter CJ; Piesman J
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio 78284, USA.
SOURCE:
J Infect Dis 1996 Feb;173(2):403-9
"Bites from the hard tick Amblyomma americanum are associated with a Lyme disease-like illness in the southern United States. To identify possible etiologic agents for this disorder, A. americanum ticks were collected in Missouri, Texas, New Jersey, and New York and examined microscopically. Uncultivable spirochetes were present in approximately 2% of the ticks. ...Phylogenetic analysis showed that the spirochete was a Borrelia species distinct from previously characterized members of this genus, including Borrelia burgdorferi."

* TITLE:
Evaluation of Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum, and Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) from Georgia as vectors of a Florida strain of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi.
AUTHORS:
Sanders FH Jr; Oliver JH Jr
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro 30460- 8056, USA.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 1995 Jul;32(4):402-6
"Amblyomma americanum (L.) and Dermacentor variabilis (Say) did not transmit the MI-6 isolate from inoculated hamsters to naive laboratory mice, and nymphal ticks did not maintain this isolate transstadially."

* TITLE:
Isolation and transmission of the Lyme disease spirochete from the southeastern United States.
AUTHORS:
Oliver JH Jr; Chandler FW Jr; Luttrell MP; James AM; Stallknecht DE; McGuire BS; Hutcheson HJ; Cummins GA; Lane RS
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro 30460.
SOURCE:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1993 Aug 1;90(15):7371-5
"Tick transmission of one of the isolates has been attempted so far; I. scapularis transmitted isolate SI-1 from hamsters to mice, but the lone-star tick, Amblyomma americanum, did not."

* TITLE:
Attempted transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) (JDI strain) by Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), Dermacentor variabilis, and Amblyomma americanum.
AUTHORS:
Mukolwe SW; Kocan AA; Barker RW; Kocan KM; Murphy GL
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 1992 Jul;29(4):673-7
"Laboratory-reared Ixodes scapularis Say, Amblyomma americanum (L.), and Dermacentor variabilis (Say) were fed on New Zealand white rabbits experimentally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (JDI strain). At repletion, spirochetes could be detected by dark-field microscopy only in I. scapularis."

* TITLE:
Intrinsic competence of three ixodid ticks (Acari) as vectors of the Lyme disease spirochete.
AUTHORS:
Mather TN; Mather ME
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Tropical Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
SOURCE:
J Med Entomol 1990 Jul;27(4):646-50
"We compared the intrinsic vector competence of Ixodes dammini Spielman et al., Dermacentor variabilis (Say), and Amblyomma americanum (L.) for the Lyme disease spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson et al.) on Prudence Island, Rhode Island, a Lyme disease-endemic site where all three ticks occur together. ...Furthermore, although larvae of all three tick species became infected by ingesting spirochetes while feeding on experimentally infected mice, only I. dammini remained infected following the transstadial molt. These findings suggest that of these three tick species, only I. dammini is competent as a vector of the Lyme disease spirochete."

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For more information about Lyme disease, see: Lots Of Links On Lyme Disease

Comments or questions concerning this page should be directed to Art Doherty.

Last updated on 25 April 2001 by
Art Doherty
Lompoc, California
[email protected]

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