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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Feeding of Ticks on Animals for Transmission and Xenodiagnosis in Lyme Disease Research
Published on: August 31, 2013
Bartonella species and their ectoparasites: selective host adaptation or strain selection between the vector and the
Yi-Lun Tsai1, Chao-Chin Chang, Shih-Te Chuang
1Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Abstract:
A wide range of blood-sucking arthropods have either been confirmed or are suspected as important vectors in Bartonella transmission to mammals, including humans. Overall, it appears that the diversity of Bartonella species DNA identified in ectoparasites is much broader than the species detected in their mammalian hosts, suggesting a mechanism of adaptation of Bartonella species to their host-vector ecosystem. However, these mechanisms leading to the fitness between the vectors and their hosts still need to be investigated.
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