Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in rodents from Jiangxi, southeastern China region.

In order to investigate the prevalence of B.burgdorferi sensu lato in rodents from Jiangxi province of southeastern China. Isolation of B.burgdoferi strains and PCR-based studies were carried out in 204 mice collected from six counties of Jiangxi province in May of 2011 and 2012. The results showed the prevalence of Lyme spirochetal infection among seven species of wild and peridomestic rodents in Jiangxi. 3 strains isolated from 204 mice were all belonged to Borrelia yangze sp.nov. The study firstly showed the role of rodents in maintaining the pathogen of Lyme disease in the environment from Jiangxi province and there existed at least one genotype of Lyme spirochetes in Jiangxi.