The importance of lizards and small mammals as reservoirs for B orrelia lusitaniae in P ortugal

Summary B orrelia lusitaniae is a pathogen frequent in the M editerranean area. Apart from lizards, evidence for birds and small mammals as competent reservoirs for this genospecies has been occasional. We collected questing ticks, skin biopsies and I xodes sp. ticks feeding on lizards, birds and small mammals in a B . burgdorferi s.l. (sensu lato) enzootic area to assess their importance in the maintenance of B . lusitaniae . B orrelia lusitaniae was the most prevalent genospecies in questing ticks and was commonly found in larvae feeding on P sammodromus algirus . One biopsy infected with B . lusitaniae was collected from the tail of one P odarcis hispanica , which suggests systemic infection. I xodes ricinus larvae feeding on A podemus sylvaticus were infected with B . lusitaniae but with a lower prevalence. Our results reinforce the importance of lizards as reservoirs for B . lusitaniae , suggesting that P . algirus, in particular, acts as main reservoir for B . lusitaniae in P ortugal.