Fig. 2

The log10-transformed B. afzelii spirochete load of the subset of infected I. ricinus nymphal ticks is shown as a function of the age of infection (2, 34, 66, 94 and 128 days) for strain A3 (a) and strain A10 (b). Spirochete load data were based on 718 I. ricinus nymphs infected with B. afzellii that were sampled from 23 mice at all five time points. Each data point represents the average nymphal spirochete load for one mouse. Shown are the medians (black line), the 25th and 75th percentiles (edges of the box), the minimum and maximum values (whiskers), and the outliers (circles)