Low probability of a dilution effect for Lyme borreliosis in Belgian forests

Publication date: July 2018Source: Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Volume 9, Issue 5Author(s): Sanne C. Ruyts, Dries Landuyt, Evy Ampoorter, Dieter Heylen, Steffen Ehrmann, Elena C. Coipan, Erik Matthysen, Hein Sprong, Kris VerheyenAbstractAn increasing number of studies have investigated the consequences of biodiversity loss for the occurrence of vector-borne diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere. As host species differ in their ability to transmit the Lyme borreliosis bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. to ticks, increased host diversity can decrease disease prevalence by increasing the proportion of dilution hosts, host species that transmit pathogens less efficiently. Previous research shows that Lyme borreliosis risk differs between forest types and suggests that a higher diversity of host species might dilute the contribution of small rodents to infect ticks with B. afzelii, a common Borrelia genospecies. However, empirical evidence for a dilution effect in Europe is largely lacking. We tested the dilution effect hypothesis in 19 Belgian forest stands of different forest types along a diversity gradient. We used empirical data and a Bayesian belief network to investigate the impact of the proportion of dilution hosts on the density of ticks infected with B. afzelii, and identified the key drivers determining the density of infected ticks, which is a measure of human infection risk. Densities of ticks and B. afzeli...

Source: Ticks and Tick borne Diseases - July 5, 2018 Category: Zoology Source Type: research