Journal of Medical Entomology (1992) 29, 915-920

J.S. Gray, O. Kahl, C. Janetzki and J. Stein (1992)
Studies on the ecology of Lyme disease in a deer forest in County Galway, Ireland
Journal of Medical Entomology 29 (6), 915-920
Abstract: The abundance of the tick Ixodes ricinus (L.) and the infection rate of ticks with Borrelia burgdorferi (Johnson et al.) were compared on either side of a deer fence in a forest park in County Galway, Ireland, in an attempt to elucidate the role of fallow deer, Dama dama, and woodmice, Apodemus sylvaticus, in determining the population density of I. ricinus and the transmission of B. burgdorferi. The results showed that tick numbers were much higher on the deer side of the fence, although the density of mice was similar on both sides. This suggests that, in the absence of other obvious factors, deer rather than mice are responsible for tick abundance in this habitat. Tick infection rates, determined by immunofluorescence, were consistently higher outside the deer fence than inside it. It is suggested, therefore, that mice rather than deer may be the important reservoir hosts of B. burgdorferi in this habitat and that deer, by feeding many larvae, probably contribute large numbers of uninfected ticks to the population. If this is the case, there will not be a direct relationship between deer abundance and tick infection rates. This has important implications for risk assessment.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Jeremy S. Gray

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ixodes ricinus		Ireland
	Apodemus sylvaticus		Ireland