TY - JOUR AU - Hersh, Michelle AU - Tibbetts, Michael AU - Strauss, Mia AU - Ostfeld, Richard AU - Keesing, Felicia T1 - Reservoir Competence of Wildlife Host Species for Babesia microti T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2012 VL - 18 IS - 12 SP - 1951 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Human babesiosis is an increasing health concern in the northeastern United States, where the causal agent, Babesia microti, is spread through the bite of infected Ixodes scapularis ticks. We sampled 10 mammal and 4 bird species within a vertebrate host community in southeastern New York to quantify reservoir competence (mean percentage of ticks infected by an individual host) using real-time PCR. We found reservoir competence levels >17% in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), raccoons (Procyon lotor), short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda), and eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus), and <6% but >0% in all other species, including all 4 bird species. Data on the relative contributions of multiple host species to tick infection with B. microti and level of genetic differentiation between B. microti strains transmitted by different hosts will help advance understanding of the spread of human babesiosis. KW - Babesia microti KW - babesiosis KW - bacteria KW - disease reservoirs KW - ecology KW - Ixodes scapularis KW - Peromyscus KW - ticks KW - zoonoses KW - real-time PCR KW - competence KW - wildlife host species KW - United States DO - 10.3201/eid1812.111392 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/12/11-1392_article ER - End of Reference