2023-07-25 17:52:18
The experiment made it possible to reduce the dangerousness of ticks by disturbing their microbiota, but did not protect the mice from their contamination by Lyme disease.
They are the first vectors of disease in animals, and the second in humans. Ticks have been the subject of a vaccine experiment to reduce their infection by the bacterium which gives rise to Lyme disease, the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Inrae) announced in a press release published on Monday.
Since no vaccine once morest Lyme disease has yet been found, “despite extensive research”, researchers from Inrae, the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses) and the veterinary school of Alfort (Val-de-Marne) were interested in ticks, rather than their victims.
Disrupt the microbiota of ticks
To do this, they tested a vaccine that disrupts the tick’s microbiota, where the tick lives. Borreliathe bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, on mice, with a harmless bacterium for the experiment.
“Once in the body, this harmless bacterium causes the mouse to produce antibodies. If the mouse is then bitten by a tick, these antibodies interact with the microbiota of the tick and modify it” explains Inrae, before continuing: “analysis of ticks following bite shows that they carry much less Borrelia than those which have bitten unvaccinated animals.
If this vaccine does not protect the mouse from Lyme disease, it “protects the tick once morest colonization by Borrelia”. This is enough to push researchers to “consider the development of an innovative vaccination strategy aimed at disrupting the microbiota” of ticks.
Between 0 and 20% of infected ticks
Since January 2017, more than 72,000 tick bites have been recorded in France by the research institute. But not all of these lead to transmission of Lyme disease. Between 0 and 20% of ticks are infected by the disease depending on the region and the season.
To avoid any bite, it is advisable to wear long clothes and stay on the paths avoiding brush, ferns and tall grass. It is also possible to spray repellents on clothes. Finally, when returning from an outing in nature, it is recommended to inspect the skin to check that there are no ticks.
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