Dr Muhammed Morshed, Program Lead for BCCDC’s Zoonotic Diseases and Emerging Pathogens, has published a scientific paper titled, “Surveillance for Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodes Ticks and Small Rodents in British Columbia” in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 15(11): 701-705.
The research was conducted over a two year period, and it involved the collection of multiple species of ticks from small rodents in areas of British Columbia that were determined to be high risk for tick exposure. The results of the study were consistent with previous studies and data suggest that there is a low prevalence of ticks carrying the predominant causative agent for Lyme disease. The full article can be read online here .
This study is one of the projects that the BCCDC Foundation has helped provide funding for, through grants and awards. The Foundation is proud to play a role as BCCDC researchers continue to work towards improving public health in British Columbia. A big congratulations to all involved in the study. We are looking forward to seeing what comes out of Dr Morshed and his team’s other projects; they have been working on spirochetes including Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi since 1997 at BCCDC. Dr Morshed has isolated many strains of B burgdorferi over the years from different parts of the province. Currently Dr Morshed and his team are trying to characterise those isolates through whole genome sequencing and are also working on developing molecular tools for detecting other spirochaetal pathogen such as Treponema pallidum (syphilis) and Helicobacter pylori (gastric pathogen).
