Evidence of Borrelia in wild and domestic mammals from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

The main of the study was to evaluate the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in domestic and wild vertebrates and ectoparasites in endemic areas from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 445 serum samples were examined by ELISA, which used the Borrelia burgdorferi strain G39/40 U.S. source and 3,821 tick samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). B. burgdorferi antibodies were found in 30 serum samples (6.74%); three in marsupials (7.69%), three in rodents (2.80%), nine in dogs (6.25%), and 15 in horses (9.68%). Nested-PCR performed in DNA samples obtained from collected ticks demonstrated negative results. Although attempts to amplify B. burgdorferi DNA from ticks had been not successful, the presence of seroreactive vertebrates suggests the possibility the Borrelia species circulating in these regions. Further research is required to provide information on the presence of Borrelia in Brazilian territory and its association with Baggio-Yoshinari syndrome.

本研究的主要目的为评估巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州流行区域内，家养与野生脊椎动物以及体外寄生虫中伯氏疏螺旋体（Borrelia burgdorferi）感染的检出情况。研究共收集445份血清样本，采用以美国来源的伯氏疏螺旋体G39/40菌株为包被抗原的酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）开展检测；同时对3821份蜱虫样本实施聚合酶链式反应（PCR）检测。
结果显示，共计30份血清样本检出伯氏疏螺旋体抗体，阳性率为6.74%；其中有袋类动物阳性3份（7.69%），啮齿类动物阳性3份（2.80%），犬只阳性9份（6.25%），马匹阳性15份（9.68%）。对从采集蜱虫中提取的DNA样本开展巢式聚合酶链式反应（Nested-PCR）检测，结果均为阴性。
尽管未能从蜱虫样本中成功扩增出伯氏疏螺旋体DNA，但血清学反应阳性的脊椎动物提示，该区域内可能存在疏螺旋体属（Borrelia）物种的循环传播。未来仍需开展进一步研究，以明确疏螺旋体在巴西境内的存在情况，及其与巴吉奥-吉原综合征（Baggio-Yoshinari syndrome）的关联。