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Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks Are Not Vectors of the Lyme Disease Agent, Borrelia burgdorferi (Spirocheatales: Spirochaetaceae): A Review of the Evidence

Overview of attention for article published in Journal of Medical Entomology, January 2018
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  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Among the highest-scoring outputs from this source (#12 of 3,268)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (99th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (95th percentile)

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72 news outlets
blogs
3 blogs
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24 X users
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8 Facebook pages
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1 Redditor

Citations

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20 Dimensions

Readers on

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48 Mendeley
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Title
Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks Are Not Vectors of the Lyme Disease Agent, Borrelia burgdorferi (Spirocheatales: Spirochaetaceae): A Review of the Evidence
Published in
Journal of Medical Entomology, January 2018
DOI 10.1093/jme/tjx250
Pubmed ID
Authors

Ellen Y Stromdahl, Robyn M Nadolny, Graham J Hickling, Sarah A Hamer, Nicholas H Ogden, Cory Casal, Garrett A Heck, Jennifer A Gibbons, Taylor F Cremeans, Mark A Pilgard

Abstract

In the early 1980s, Ixodes spp. ticks were implicated as the key North American vectors of Borrelia burgdorferi (Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt and Brenner) (Spirocheatales: Spirochaetaceae), the etiological agent of Lyme disease. Concurrently, other human-biting tick species were investigated as potential B. burgdorferi vectors. Rashes thought to be erythema migrans were observed in patients bitten by Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks, and spirochetes were visualized in a small percentage of A. americanum using fluorescent antibody staining methods, sparking interest in this species as a candidate vector of B. burgdorferi. Using molecular methods, the spirochetes were subsequently described as Borrelia lonestari sp. nov. (Spirocheatales: Spirochaetaceae), a transovarially transmitted relapsing fever Borrelia of uncertain clinical significance. In total, 54 surveys from more than 35 research groups, involving more than 52,000 ticks, have revealed a low prevalence of B. lonestari, and scarce B. burgdorferi, in A. americanum. In Lyme disease-endemic areas, A. americanum commonly feeds on B. burgdorferi-infected hosts; the extremely low prevalence of B. burgdorferi in this tick results from a saliva barrier to acquiring infection from infected hosts. At least nine transmission experiments involving B. burgdorferi in A. americanum have failed to demonstrate vector competency. Advancements in molecular analysis strongly suggest that initial reports of B. burgdorferi in A. americanum across many states were misidentified B. lonestari, or DNA contamination, yet the early reports continue to be cited without regard to the later clarifying studies. In this article, the surveillance and vector competency studies of B. burgdorferi in A. americanum are reviewed, and we conclude that A. americanum is not a vector of B. burgdorferi.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 24 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 48 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 48 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 10 21%
Student > Ph. D. Student 9 19%
Student > Doctoral Student 5 10%
Professor 5 10%
Student > Master 5 10%
Other 6 13%
Unknown 8 17%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 18 38%
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 5 10%
Immunology and Microbiology 4 8%
Environmental Science 2 4%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 2 4%
Other 6 13%
Unknown 11 23%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 595. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 May 2022.
All research outputs
#37,291
of 24,932,434 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Medical Entomology
#12
of 3,268 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#901
of 451,351 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Medical Entomology
#3
of 45 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,932,434 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,268 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 12.5. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 451,351 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 45 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its contemporaries.