Table 1. Number of vlsE sequences analyzed from different tissues and time points during experimental infection of immunocompetent C3H/HeN mice or SCID mice with B. burgdorferi B31.

Days post infection	No. of sequences
	C3H/HeN					SCIDa
	Bladder	Heart	Joint	Ear	Skin	Bladder	Heart	Joint	Ear	Skin
4	NCb	NC	NC	NC	43*	NC	NC	NC	NC	23§*
7	72	71	76	NC	6*	4	15	20	NC	ND
10	61	59	60	60	NDc	34	27	28	24	ND
14	49	40	57	55	10*	21	39	31	47	9§*
21	ND	ND	ND	ND	48*	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
28	42*	49*	40*	19*	17*	44§*	41§*	20§*	ND	23 §*
214	ND	ND	ND	ND	7*	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
365	3*	ND	ND	ND	5*	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND

B. burgdorferi B31 Clones 5A4 or 5A3 (asterisks) were injected subcutaneously 10⁵/mouse at the base of the tail. Groups of 4 to 6 mice were sacrificed on the indicated days post infection.

Cultures from the tissue sites (urinary bladder, heart, tibiotarsal joint, ear pinnae and skin punch biopsies) were acquired under aseptic conditions and clones obtained by subsurface colony formation in agar plates.

^aSCID mice were either C3H/HeN SCID or CB-17 SCID (^§).

^bNC = no positive cultures obtained.

^cND = cultures not done.