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The γ-proteobacterium  Francisella tularensis  causes seasonal tick-transmitted tularemia outbreaks in natural rabbit hosts and incidental infections in humans in the south-central United States. Although  Dermacentor variabilis  is considered a primary vector for  F .  tularensis ,  Amblyomma americanum  is the most abundant tick species in this endemic region. A systematic study of  F .  tularensis  colonization of  A .  americanum  was undertaken to better understand its potential to serve as an overwintering reservoir for  F .  tularensis  and as a bridging vector for human infections. Colony-reared  A .  americanum  were artificially fed  F .  tularensis  subspecies  holarctica  strain LVS via glass capillaries and colonization levels determined. Capillary-fed larva and nymph were initially infected with 10 4  CFU/tick which declined prior to molting for both stages, but rebounded post-molting in nymphs and persisted in 53% at 10 3  to 10 8  CFU/nymph at 168 days post-capillary feeding (longest sampling time in the study). In contrast, only 18% of adults molted from colonized nymphs maintained LVS colonization at 10 1  to 10 5  CFU/adult at 168 days post-capillary feeding (longest sampling time). For adults, LVS initially colonized the gut and disseminated to salivary glands by 24 h and had an ID 50  of <5CFU in mice.  Francisella tularensis  infected the ovaries of gravid females, but transmission to eggs was infrequent and transovarial transmission to hatched larvae was not observed. The prolonged persistence of  F .  tularensis  in  A .  americanum  nymphs supports  A .  americanum  as an overwintering reservoir for  F .  tularensis  from which seasonal epizootics may originate; however, although the rapid dissemination of  F .  tularensis  from gut to salivary glands in adults  A .  americanum  is compatible with intermittent feeding adult males acting as bridging vectors for incidental  F .  tularensis  infections of humans, acquisition of  F .  tularensis  by adults may be unlikely based on adult feeding preference for larger mammals which are not involved in maintenance of sylvatic tularemia.

Amblyomma americanum as a Bridging Vector for Human Infection with Francisella tularensis