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9 August 2024 The effect of fluralaner treatment of small mammals on the endemic cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi in a natural environment
Jérôme Pelletier, Catherine Bouchard, Cecile Aenishaenslin, Antonia Dibernardo, Gabrielle Dimitri Masson, Christopher Fernandez-Prada, Simon Gagnon, Ana Victoria Ibarra Meneses, Robbin Lindsay, Nicholas Ogden, Jean-Philippe Rocheleau, Patrick Leighton
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Abstract

Among approaches aimed at reducing Lyme disease risk in the environment, those targeting reservoirs of Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson are promising because they have the potential to reduce both the density of questing Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidea) ticks and the prevalence of B. burgdorferi in the tick population. In this 4-yr field study, we treated a population of wild small mammals with 2 densities of fluralaner baits and investigated the effect of the treatment on 3 parameters of the endemic cycle of B. burgdorferi: (i) the prevalence of infected Peromyscus mice (PIM), (ii) the density of questing nymphs (DON), and (iii) the prevalence of infected questing nymphs (NIP). We demonstrated that fluralaner baiting is effective at reducing tick infestation of Peromyscus mice, the main reservoir of B. burgdorferi in central and northeastern North America, in the laboratory and the field. Results from this study showed a significant decrease in B. burgdorferi infection in mice (odds ratio: 0.37 [CI95: 0.17 to 0.83]). A reduction in the DON between 45.4% [CI95: 22.4 to 61.6] and 62.7% [CI95: 45.9 to 74.2] occurred in treated area when compared with control areas. No significant effect was reported on the NIP.These results confirm the hypothesis that fluralaner baits have an effect on B. burgdorferi endemic cycle, with the potential to reduce the density of B. burgdorferi-infected ticks in the environment. Further studies performed in various habitats and public health intervention contexts are needed to refine and operationalize this approach for reducing Lyme disease risk in the environment.

Jérôme Pelletier, Catherine Bouchard, Cecile Aenishaenslin, Antonia Dibernardo, Gabrielle Dimitri Masson, Christopher Fernandez-Prada, Simon Gagnon, Ana Victoria Ibarra Meneses, Robbin Lindsay, Nicholas Ogden, Jean-Philippe Rocheleau, and Patrick Leighton "The effect of fluralaner treatment of small mammals on the endemic cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi in a natural environment," Journal of Medical Entomology 61(5), 1203-1213, (9 August 2024). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae091
Received: 13 August 2023; Accepted: 17 July 2024; Published: 9 August 2024
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KEYWORDS
Borrelia burgdorferi
fluralaner
Ixodes scapularis
Lyme disease
Peromyscus mouse
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