Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39472944›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2024

Bartonella infections are rare in blood-fed Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus ticks collected from rodents in the United States.

Ying Bai, Lynn M Osikowicz, Jacoby Clark, Erik Foster, Christina Parise, Sarah Maes, Rebecca J Eisen

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Ectoparasite-borneParasitology · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Ying BaiDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA. bby5@cdc.gov.
Lynn M OsikowiczDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Jacoby ClarkDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Erik FosterDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Christina PariseDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Sarah MaesDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Rebecca J EisenDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIxodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus are important vectors of multiple pathogens in the United States. However, their role in transmission of Bartonella spp., which are commonly reported in rodents and fleas, has been debated. Our previous investigation on Bartonella spp. in host-seeking I. scapularis and I. pacificus showed Bartonella spp. were absent in the ticks, suggesting the two species are unlikely to contribute to Bartonella transmission. It is unclear whether the absence of Bartonella spp. in the host-seeking ticks was attributable to ticks not being exposed to Bartonella in nature or being exposed but unable to acquire or transstadially transmit the bacterium. To assess the likelihood of exposure and acquisition, we tested Ixodes spp. ticks collected from rodents for Bartonella infections.

methodsBlood-fed I. scapularis ticks (n = 792; consisting of 645 larvae and 147 nymphs), I. pacificus ticks (n = 45, all larvae), and Ixodes angustus ticks (n = 16, consisting of 11 larvae and 5 nymphs) collected from rodents from Minnesota and Washington were tested for Bartonella spp. using a quadruplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicon next-generation sequencing approach that targets Bartonella-specific fragments on gltA, ssrA, rpoB, and groEL. In parallel, rodents and fleas collected from the same field studies were investigated to compare the differences of Bartonella distribution among the ticks, fleas, and rodents.

resultsBartonella spp. were commonly detected in rodents and fleas, with prevalence of 25.6% in rodents and 36.8% in fleas from Minnesota; 27.9% in rodents and 45.2% in fleas from Washington. Of all tested ticks, Bartonella DNA was detected by gltA in only one larval I. scapularis tick from Minnesota.

conclusionsThe high prevalence of Bartonella spp. in rodents and fleas coupled with extremely low prevalence of Bartonella spp. in blood-fed ticks suggests that although Ixodes ticks commonly encounter Bartonella in rodents, they rarely acquire the infection through blood feeding. Notably, ticks were at various stages of feeding on rodents when they were collected. Laboratory transmission studies are needed to assess acquisition rates in fully blood-fed ticks and to assess transstadial transmission efficiency if ticks acquire Bartonella infections from feeding to repletion.

Indexed as

BartonellaBartonella InfectionsIxodesLarvaRodentiaAnimalsFemaleNymphRodent DiseasesTick InfestationsUnited StatesBartonella spp.Blood-fedFleasIxodes pacificusIxodes scapularisRodents

Identifiers

PMID39472944
PMCPMC11520693

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.