Red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) were live trapped in northern St. Louis County, Minnesota (USA), in late September and October 1988 and experimentally inoculated with Borrelia burgdorferi. Spirochetes were isolated from most animals 14 and 28 days following inoculation. Thus, red-backed voles exposed to B. burgdorferi were susceptible to infection and could be a reservoir host, along with chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and other small rodents, in areas where white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) populations are low. No evidence of clinical disease was noted in any infected voles.
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1 July 1995
Experimental Infection of the Red-backed Vole (Clethrionomys gapperi) with Borrelia burgdorferi
Russell F. Bey,
Keith I. Loken,
Ching Ching Wu,
Tsang Long Lin
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 31 • No. 3
July 1995
Vol. 31 • No. 3
July 1995
Borrelia burgdorferi
Clethrionomys gapperi
experimental infection
Lyme disease
red-backed vole