@article{levin_yang_apperson_levine_howard_1996, title={Reservoir Competence of the Southeastern Five-Lined Skink (Eumeces inexpectatus) and the Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) for Borrelia burgdorferi}, volume={54}, ISSN={0002-9637 1476-1645}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1996.54.92}, DOI={10.4269/ajtmh.1996.54.92}, abstractNote={The reservoir competence of two lizard species, the southeastern five-lined skink (Eumeces inexpectatus) and the green anole (Anolis carolinesis), for Borrelia burgdorferi was evaluated. Skinks and anoles were exposed by needle inoculation or tick bite to B. burgdorferi. Xenodiagnosis with larval Ixodes scapularis and culture of tissues were used to asses infection and the ability of infected lizards to infect attached ticks. Both lizard species were susceptible to B. burgdorferi by both routes of exposure. Xenodiagnostic ticks acquired spirochetes while feeding on both species. One tick that dropped from a skink on the ninth day after exposure was infected. The remainder of xenodiagnostic ticks that acquired spirochetes fed three weeks after exposure of the lizards to the spirochete. Lizards remained infectious to attached ticks for at least five weeks. Overall, more than 20% of xenodiagnostic larvae fed on southeastern five-lined skinks acquired spirochetes. Individual skinks infected up to 34% of attached ticks. A smaller proportion of ticks feeding on green anoles became infected. Borrelia burgdorferi recovered from infected lizards retained their infectivity for mammalian hosts. The ability of the lizards to sustain a Borrelia infection and infect attached ticks suggests that they may play a role in the maintenance of spirochete transmission.}, number={1}, journal={The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene}, publisher={American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene}, author={Levin, Michael and Yang, Sam and Apperson, Charles S. and Levine, Jay F. and Howard, Peter}, year={1996}, month={Jan}, pages={92–97} }
 @article{levin_levine_apperson_norris_howard_1995, title={Reservoir Competence of the Rice Rat (Rodentia: Cricetidae) for Borrelia burgdorferi}, volume={32}, ISSN={1938-2928 0022-2585}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/32.2.138}, DOI={10.1093/jmedent/32.2.138}, abstractNote={The reservoir competence of the rice rat, Oryzomys palustris, for Borrelia burgdorferi is described. Infected Ixodes scapularis Say (I. dammini, Spielman, Clifford, Piesman & Corwin) nymphs were used to infect animals. Borrelia infection was diagnosed by xenodiagnostic feeding of noninfected I. scapularis larvae and by reisolation of the spirochetes from blood and other tissues. Rice rats acquired B. burgdorferi and maintained spirochete infection for 5-9 wk. B. burgdorferi were cultured from samples of skin and urinary bladders from all animals killed on day 21 (three rats), 35 (three rats), or 56 (three rats) after infection. The spirochetes were also detected in blood samples obtained 1 and 2 wk after exposure. Spirochetes that persisted for 5 wk in rice rats did not lose their infectivity for golden Syrian hamsters. The prepatent period for infecting xenodiagnostic ticks was 1 wk. Overall, 75.6% of I. scapularis larvae (n = 694) that fed on infected rice rats acquired B. burgdorferi. Prevalence of infection reached 83% in ticks that fed on tick-exposed animals during the 2nd-4th wk, 68% during the 5th wk, and 17.4% during the 9th wk. The duration of rice rat infectivity for ticks exceeded 2 mo. I. scapularis nymphs infected as larvae on rice rats transmitted B. burgdorferi. Taken together, these studies confirm the reservoir competence of the rice rat for B. burgdorferi.}, number={2}, journal={Journal of Medical Entomology}, publisher={Oxford University Press (OUP)}, author={Levin, Michael and Levine, Jay F. and Apperson, Charles S. and Norris, Douglas E. and Howard, Peter B.}, year={1995}, month={Mar}, pages={138–142} }