Table 1.
Acquisition, transstadial transmission, and maintenance of F. tularensis types A1b, A2, and type B in D. variabilis
| Infection groups* | Replicates | Average mouse peak bacteremia (log10 cfu/mL) | Larvae that fed to repletion 1 day before peak bacteremia | Larvae that fed to repletion the day of peak bacteremia | Total replete larvae | Acquisition rate | Transstadial transmission rate† | Maintenance infection rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1b | 5 | 9.56 (SD = 0.29) | 221 | 731 | 952 | 64.00% (SD = 26.10%) | 93.30% (SD = 11.50%) | 97.1% (SD = 6.40%) |
| A2 | 6 | 9.48 (SD = 0.39) | 742 | 109 | 851 | 80.00% (SD = 17.90%) | 96.70% (SD = 8.20%) | NA‡ |
| Type B | 6 | 10.59 (SD = 0.27) | 755 | 251 | 1,006 | 93.30% (SD = 10.30%) | 100.00% (SD = 0.00%) | 93.3% (SD = 16.30%) |
*
Sample size for acquisition rate, transstadial transmission rate, and maintenance infection rate for A1b was 25 ticks derived from five groups and for A2 and type B was 30 ticks derived from six groups.
†
The A1b transstadial transmission rate was obtained from an independent experiment.
‡
Maintenance transmission rate could not be determined because of high mortality in the ticks at this time point.