Lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne disease in Slovenia. Lyme borreliosis is caused by a group of related spirochaetes named Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. In Slovenia the main competent reservoirs are small mammals, birds and lizards, which are crucial for successful maintenance and transmission for borrelia. The aim of the present study was to perform an epidemiological survey to determine the prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato and Borrelia miyamotoi in small mammals. Heart and lungs was examined with molecular methods and culture techniques. DNA of B. burgdorferi sensu lato was detected in 20,25 % rodents, using real time PCR, targeting gene ospA. B. burgdorferi sensu lato was isolated from 6,01 % rodents. Molecular methods were more sensitive than culture techniques. B. miyamotoi DNA was detected in 0,61 % rodents, using molecular methods and confirmed with sequencing. Identification of isolated Lyme borrelia was performed on limited number of samples with large restriction fragment pattern (MluI-LRFP) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). MluI-LRFP revealed all isolates as Borrelia afzelii Mla1. According to our results MLST has greater discriminatory power. MLST analysis revealed three distinct sequence types, all belonging to B. afzelii species and all three already known in Slovenia. Our findings confirm successful reproduction and transmission between reservoir, vectors and humans.
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