Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Until recently, the transmission of tick-borne pathogens via vertebrates was thought to depend on the development of a systemic infection in the vertebrate hosts. Pathogen transmission has now been shown to occur between infected and uninfected ticks co-feeding in time or space in the absence of a systemic infection, originally for viruses, but now also for bacteria. The epidemiological consequences of this new non-systemic transmission pathway necessitate a major reassessment of the components and dynamics of tick-borne pathogen enzootic cycles. Here Sarah Randolph, Lise Gern and Pat Nuttall show that a much wider range of natural hosts than was previously recognized may contribute significantly to the transmission of tick-borne diseases, and compare quantitatively the relative contributions made by the systemic and non-systemic transmission pathways.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Parasitol Today

Publication Date

12/1996

Volume

12

Pages

472 - 479