Author(s)

John D. Scott¹, Janet E. Foley²

¹Research Division, Lyme Ontario, Fergus, Canada.
²Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.

We document the first record of Borrelia americana in Canada. This Borrelia was detected in an avian coast tick, Ixodes auritulus (Acari: Ixodidae), collected from a Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius, along coastal British Columbia. Using real-time PCR and DNA sequencing of the flagellin gene, we determined that the borrelial amplicon from the I. auritulus nymph was 99% homologous with B. americana type strain SCW-41. Because patients infected with B. americana can be seronegative for Lyme disease, medical professionals should be willing to pursue molecular analyses and consider treatment for patients with Lyme disease-like symptoms.

Borrelia americana, Lyme Disease, Avian Coastal Tick, Ixodes auritulus, Varied Thrush, Songbird, Bird Parasitism, Canada

Scott, J. and Foley, J. (2016) Detection of Borrelia americana in the Avian Coastal Tick, Ixodes auritulus (Acari: Ixodidae), Collected from a Bird Captured in Canada. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 6, 207-216. doi: 10.4236/ojas.2016.63027.