Borrelia burgdorferi exposure in coyotes: an indicator of B. burgdorferi levels in urban versus rural environments

TL;DR

This paper examines whether coyotes in urban areas have higher rates of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease-causing bacteria, compared to those in rural areas.

Contribution

The paper highlights a knowledge gap in understanding B. burgdorferi prevalence in urban versus rural coyotes as potential sentinels for Lyme disease.

Findings

One study found higher but not statistically significant B. burgdorferi antibody prevalence in urban canines due to small sample sizes.

Another study compared rural habitats but did not include urban coyotes, making the PICO question unanswerable.

The paper concludes that more research is needed to confidently assess B. burgdorferi levels in urban versus rural coyotes.

Abstract

PICO question

Do wild coyotes in the US that are in an urban habitat compared to a rural habitat have a higher prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi seroconversion?

Clinical bottom line

Category of research question

Prevalence

The number and type of study designs reviewed

Two papers, both utilising a cross-sectional study design

Strength of evidence

Zero

Outcomes reported

The relevant studies provide very limited to no evidence towards answering this PICO question. In one, while the absolute percentage of Borrelia-antibody-positive canines (including dogs in addition to coyotes) is higher in metropolitan areas, the effect was not found to be statistically significant, possibly due to their small sample sizes. In the second study, prevalence of antibodies against Borrelia was compared between different rural habitats, but no urban coyotes were tested as a comparison and thus the PICO question cannot be evaluated

Conclusion

There is a knowledge gap concerning the prevalence of Borrelia in coyotes and how it differs between urban and rural environments. Wild coyotes could be used as a sentinel species of Lyme disease activity and to assess potential for domestic pet and human infections, which would inform clinical differential diagnoses as well as testing and vaccination recommendations. More studies are needed before this PICO question can be answered in a confident manner