Feeding of Ticks on Animals for Transmission and Xenodiagnosis in Lyme Disease ResearchMonica E. Embers 1, Britton J. Grasperge 1, Mary B. Jacobs 1, Mario T. Philipp 1
1Division of Bacteriology & Parasitology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center
Lyme disease is the most commonly-reported vector-borne disease in North America. The causative agent, Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete bacterium transmitted by Ixodid ticks. Transmission and detection of infection in animal models is optimized by the use of tick feeding, which we describe here.
