RESEARCH PAPER
Anti-Borrelia antibodies in rodents: important hosts in ecology of Lyme disease.
 
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1
Parasitological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Science, Košice, Slovakia
 
2
University of Veterinary Medicine, Košice, Slovakia
 
3
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Košice, Slovakia
 
 
Corresponding author
Astéria Stefancíková   

Parasitological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Science, Hlinkova 3, 04001 Kosice, Slovakia
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2004;11(2):209-213
 
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ABSTRACT
Data presented in this study focuses on the presence of anti-Borrelia antibodies in small mammals from Eastern Slovakia during 2000-2003. The total seropositivity observed was 18.78%in rodents. Amongst all species, the total seroprevalence in Apodemus flavicolis was the highest (20.87%), followed by Apodemus agrarius (19.58%) and Clethrionomys glareolus (11.11%). However, the prevalencein Apodemus flavicolis during the year 2000-2001 was higher (26.72%), which reduced to 10.60% in 2002-2003.To compare the year range of seroprevalence in other small mammals was not feasible due to the small sample number. Area-wise distribution of anti-Borrelia antibodies was even (18.75% to 20%) in this study, except in the Bot'any province (0%). This confirms the equal distribution of Borrelia spirochetes in the other 3 localities. Prevalence of anti-Borrelia antibodies during summer was significantly higher than during autumn and early spring. The overall study also reviews the importance of small mammals in Lyme disease ecology.
eISSN:1898-2263
ISSN:1232-1966
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