Epidemiology of Lyme Disease in Domestic and Wild Animals

Abstract

This review considers the main aspects of Lyme Borreliosis epidemiology in animals [domestic and wild] and ticks and in particular, the environmental interference on the interactions between the different hosts, including humans as terminal host as well as the current epidemiology of Lyme disease, especially based on the interactions between the biological systems involved in its spatial and temporal variations. The expression of pathogenic Borreliae occurs through interaction with the diverse stages of development of ticks and their blood meals from the different animal reservoirs and humans. The species of ticks and the prevalence of Borrelia species vary according to their provenance in the diverse continents. Reservoir animals have different functions depending on the respective species. Small rodents and some birds are responsible for retaining pathogens, while the large domestic and wild animals contribute to the increase in the number of ticks in the area and to the transmission of borreliosis among themselves through the cofeeding phenomenon. The dog on the other hand is a terminal host, as are humans, and both species may develop acute and chronic clinical forms, mainly of articular and neural nature. Climatic variations and changes in the duration of seasons may interfere with the biological cycles of animal species, arthropods and bacteria. These variations have led to a gradual change in the epidemiology of the infection and of the clinical evidence of the disease in different animal species as well as humans. Finally, the implications of Lyme disease in the field of social health have been considered. In fact, Lyme borreliosis is a zoonotic disease characterized by a major social impact, which is expressed by chronic disease with progressive disability and in costly treatment in the acute cases. Therefore, its presence in human populations is not merely a health issue.