posted
Something I've wondered about is why lyme bites typically don't have an attached tick. Unlike mosquitoes, ticks don't bite and run. They bite and hang on. So, I wondered: could mosquitoes be a vector for lyme? It seems that the answer is yes:
Folia Biol (2006):The aim of the study was to determine the level of infection in mosquitoes with spirochetes Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the woody areas of Szczecin. The mosquitoes were collected from May to September 2003. The spirochetes, Borrelia burgdorferi s. l., present in mosquitoes were detected in mosquitoes with indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using rabbit anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies and goat anti-rabbit IgG marked with fluorescein isocyanate (FITC). A total of 1557 females and 58 males were collected. They represented the genera Aedes (63%) and Culex (37%). The infection level of the mosquitoes from the area studied amounted to 1.7%. The results of the present study confirm the potential of these arthropods to spread Lyme borreliosis.
Ann Agric Environ Med (2002):The mosquitoes were caught within the period of their highest activity, i.e. June August 2001, in recreational areas of the city of Szczecin. Spirochetes, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were detected in mosquitoes with the aid of the method of indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) using rabbit anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies and goat anti-rabbit IgG marked with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). A total of 639 mosquito females representing genera Aedes (99.1%) and Culex (0.9%) were collected. The mean value of the infection rate of mosquitoes from the area studied was 1.25%. The highest infection rate was recorded in June (3.2%), while the lowest -- in July (0.6%). All mosquitoes infected with Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes belonged to the genus Aedes. The results of the present study confirm a potential role of those arthropods in epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis.
This next study found lyme bacteria in a host of insects, including mosquitoes and flies:
J Clin Microbiol (1988):Members of 18 species of ticks, mosquitoes, horse flies, and deer flies were collected in southeastern Connecticut and tested by indirect fluorescent-antibody staining methods for Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. An infection rate of 36.2% (116 tested), recorded for immature Ixodes dammini, exceeded positivity values for all other arthropod species. Prevalence of infection for hematophagous insects ranged from 2.9% of 105 Hybomitra lasiophthalma to 14.3% of seven Hybomitra epistates. Infected I. dammini larvae and nymphs coexisted with infected Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) immatures on white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), but unlike I. dammini, none of the 55 adult American dog ticks collected from vegetation harbored B. burgdorferi. Groups of 113 field-collected mosquitoes of Aedes canadensis and 43 Aedes stimulans were placed in cages with uninfected Syrian hamsters. Of these, 11 females of both species contained B. burgdorferi and had fed fully or partially from the hamsters. No spirochetes were isolated from the hamsters, but antibodies were produced in one test animal.
The other two studies corroborate this study from 1988. And given the finding of B. burgdorferi antibodies in a mosquito-bitten subject, this older study shows that mosquitoes can not only carry but also transmit lyme. I'm really surprised to find this given that virtually all literature on the topic only mentions ticks as a vector. But I'm not so surprised given the observation I make at the opening of this thread.
Posts: 12 | From Maryland, USA | Registered: Sep 2006
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clairenotes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10392
posted
Have heard that lyme is carried by mosquitos but not sure where. It seems to make sense though to me. They are probably not selective in whom they choose to bite, whether human or animal.
Also, global warming is displacing or causing certain insects, like mosquitos, to migrate, I think.
I am going to be more careful about protecting myself.
Claire
Posts: 1111 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2006
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lymemomtooo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5396
posted
My daughter was re-exposed this year. No ticks anywhere, and I know that can mean nothing, but the bulls eye ended up showing up soon after a mosquitoe bite and at the same location. lymemomtooo
Posts: 2360 | From SE PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
Ive had bullseye rashes appear after mosquito bites too. Ive been told by a few llmd that they feel that mosquitos do transmit lyme.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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