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Zoonotic Pathogens Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Babesia odocoilei, and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Detected in Ixodes scapularis Ticks Collected at an Established Population in Eastern Canada

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Open Access
Article Type Research Article
Subject Biology Group
OCLC JBRES Record
John D Scott* and Catherine M Scott
Issue: Volume6-Issue12
Pages: 1852-1864
Received: 2025-12-02
Accepted: 2025-12-11
Published: 2025-12-13

Abstract

Tick-borne zoonotic diseases baffle clinicians and traumatize patients worldwide. We provide the first documentation of four different tick-borne zoonotic pathogens in an established population of blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, located in eastern Canada. Using real-time and nested PCR we detected 4 pathogens in I. scapularis adults as follows: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), 17/25 (68%); Babesia odocoilei, 10/25 (40%); Babesia microti, 2/25 (8%); and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, 3/25 (12%). In addition, we found B. burgdorferi s.l. and B. odocoilei juxtaposed in I. scapularis adults. Moreover, polymicrobial pathogens can be condensed in a single tick bite. Symptoms of human babesiosis caused by B. odocoilei are listed. Babesia odocoilei is a sequestering Babesia sp. that is recalcitrant to treat. Clinicians must be aware that this intraerythrocytic parasite is medically different to treat than the Lyme disease bacterium. Both of these tick-borne zoonotic diseases can be persistent, and often chronic. In reality, there is no such condition as “Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS).”

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© 2025 Scott JD, Scott CM. Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 Creative CommonsAttribution

How to cite this article

Scott JD, Scott CM. Zoonotic Pathogens Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microtic, Babesia odocoilei, and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato detected in Ixodes scapularis Ticks collected at an established population in Eastern Canada. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2025 Dec 13; 6(12): 1852-1864. doi: 10.37871/jbres2233, Article ID: JBRES2233, Available at: https://www. jelsciences.com/articles/jbres2233.pdf

Subject area(s)

Infectious Diseases

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