Histopathological studies of experimental lyme disease in the dog.
Summers BA, Straubinger AF, Jacobson RH, Chang YF, Appel MJ, Straubinger RK.
J Comp Pathol. 2005 Jul;133(1):1-13.
PMID:
15904927
"In 14/62 dogs, lymphoplasmacytic periarteritis and perineuritis were noted, resembling lesions found in human Lyme disease and syphilis, in which an underlying microangiopathy has been proposed." Source
Sexual transmission of Borrelia garinii by male Ixodes persulcatus ticks (Acari, Ixodidae).
Alekseev AN, Dubinina HV, Rijpkema SG, Schouls LM.
Exp Appl Acarol. 1999 Feb;23(2):165-9.
PMID:
10356767
"Our data suggest that transmission of B. garinii from male ticks to female ticks does occur. Sexual transmission of this pathogen may play an important role in the maintenance of B. garinii in I. persulcatus." Source
Exchange of Borrelia burgdorferi between Ixodes persulcatus (Ixodidae:Acarina) sexual partners.
Alekseev AN, Dubinina HV.
J Med Entomol. 1996 May;33(3):351-4.
PMID:
8667380
"We observed that the infection rate among the ticks maintained as sexual pairs was 1.75-2.00 times higher than that among ticks maintained singles, indicating a borreliae interchange between sexual partners. This pathogen interchange was thought to result from a venereal or omovampiric (cannibalistic) mode of borreliae transmission. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. was determined to be present in 22.9% (112 infected specimens of 489 total), whereas infection occurred in 17.4% of single females and 16.5% of single males. The data indicate the importance of isolating ticks sexually during quantitative disease investigations with borreliae as well as tick-borne encephalitis virus and other tick-borne pathogens." Source
Alekseev AN, Dubinina HV.
Rocz Akad Med Bialymst. 1996;41(1):103-10.
PMID:
8673793
"This pathogen interchange was thought to result from a venereal or cannibalistic (omovampiric) mode of borreliae transmission. Traces of male bites (scars) on the female bodies were checked more often during a hotter seasons. borrelia burgdorferi s.l. was determined to be present in 22.9-29.3% whereas infection occurred in 12-20% of single specimens. Our data indicate the importance of isolating ticks sexually during disease investigations with borreliae as well as tick-borne encephalitis and probably other tick-borne pathogens."
Lyme disease: the promise of Big Data, companion diagnostics and precision medicine.
Stricker RB, Johnson L.
Infect Drug Resist. 2016 Sep 13;9:215-9. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S114770. eCollection 2016.
PMID:
27672336
"In addition, animal and human evidence suggests that sexual transmission of the Lyme spirochete may occur." Source
"Animal models of B. burgdorferisexual transmission in mice, dogs, and ticks have been described in the past,21–23 and further animal and human studies using sophisticated detection methods are now in progress." Source
"Whether this form of spirochete transmission is significant in Lyme disease remains to be determined, but the possibility of sexual transmission raises the question of how to treat a disease that may resemble HIV/AIDS in terms of infection risk and need for prolonged treatment." Source
Sexual transmission of Lyme disease: challenging the tickborne disease paradigm.
Stricker RB, Middelveen MJ.
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2015;13(11):1303-6. doi: 10.1586/14787210.2015.1081056. Epub 2015 Aug 26.
PMID:
26489537
"In this article, we explore the clinical, epidemiological and experimental evidence for sexual transmission of Lyme disease in animal models and humans. Although the likelihood of sexual transmission of the Lyme spirochete remains speculative, the possibility of Lyme disease transmission via intimate human contact merits further study." Source
Wright SD, Nielsen SW. Experimental infection of the white-footed mouse with Borrelia burgdorferi. Am J Vet Res. 1990;51(12):1980–1987. [PubMed]
Gustafson JM. The in utero and seminal transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi in Canidae [PhD thesis] Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin; 1993. [Accessed July 9, 2016]. Available from: http://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/ocm29551629.
Lucy Barnes