Figure 3.

The reproductive numbers (R₀) of six B. afzelii oMG strains determine the strain-specific relative prevalences in a wild population of I. ricinus nymphs. Each data point is labeled with the name of the oMG of the B. afzelii strain. The strain-specific R₀ values were estimated from an experimental infection study using laboratory mice⁴³. The strain-specific relative prevalences were estimated over the 11-year duration of the present study. The relative prevalence of an oMG strain is defined as the proportion of B. afzelii-infected nymphs that are infected with that particular oMG strain.