Duration of Adult Female Ixodes dammini Attachment and Transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi, with Description of a Needle Aspiration Isolation Method

Abstract

The relationship between the attachment duration of adult female Ixodes dammini and the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi was studied. Sixteen rabbits were exposed to spirochete-infected female ticks for specified intervals. All five rabbits exposed to ticks that fed to repletion (>120 h) became infected, as did two of three exposed for 48 h. In contrast, five rabbits exposed to a cumulative total of S3 infected female I. dammini for 36 h failed to become infected, as did three rabbits exposed for 24 h. A needle aspirate method facilitated the isolation of spirochetes from host skin.