How are people infected with borreliosis from ticks? - briefly
«Borrelia» spirochetes enter the human bloodstream when an attached Ixodes tick, infected with the pathogen, feeds and injects saliva containing the bacteria. Prompt removal of the tick before 24–36 hours of attachment markedly lowers transmission probability.
How are people infected with borreliosis from ticks? - in detail
Ticks of the genus Ixodes serve as the primary vectors for the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi complex. Nymphs and adult females are most frequently implicated because they feed for longer periods and are more likely to have acquired the pathogen during earlier blood meals.
During attachment, the tick inserts its hypostome into the host’s skin and secretes a cocktail of salivary proteins. These molecules suppress local inflammation, inhibit coagulation, and modulate the host immune response, creating a permissive environment for bacterial migration.
Transmission of the spirochete requires several hours of uninterrupted feeding. After the tick’s salivary glands become infected, Borrelia cells migrate from the midgut to the salivary ducts and are released into the host through saliva. Empirical studies indicate that a minimum of 36–48 hours of attachment markedly increases the probability of infection, whereas removal within 24 hours reduces risk to near zero.
Factors that modify transmission efficiency include:
- Ambient temperature and humidity, which affect tick activity and feeding duration.
- Infection prevalence in the local tick population, driven by reservoir hosts such as rodents and birds.
- Co‑feeding of multiple ticks on the same host, allowing pathogen exchange without systemic infection of the host.
- Host skin integrity; micro‑abrasions facilitate spirochete entry.
Preventive actions focus on interrupting the feeding process and reducing exposure:
- Conduct thorough body checks after outdoor activities, especially in endemic areas, and remove attached ticks promptly with fine‑tipped tweezers.
- Wear protective clothing (long sleeves, tick‑repellent‑treated fabrics) and apply EPA‑registered repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 to exposed skin.
- Manage vegetation around residences to diminish tick habitat (mowing, removing leaf litter, creating barrier zones).
- Consider acaricide treatments for pets and domestic environments to lower tick load.
Understanding each step of the vector‑host interaction clarifies why early tick removal and environmental control remain the most effective strategies for preventing Lyme disease transmission.