scholarly journals Comparison of the occurrence of tick-borne diseases in ticks collected from vegetation and animals in the same area

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 484-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
MONIKA ROCZEŃ-KARCZMARZ ◽  
PAULINA DUDKO ◽  
MARTA DEMKOWSKA-KUTRZEPA ◽  
MICHAŁ MEISNER ◽  
MARIA STUDZIŃSKA ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of selected pathogens in ticks taken from cats and dogs and from vegetation in urban settlements. A study was conducted to estimate the distribution of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi in adult Ixodes ricinus (236), Dermacentor reticulatus (237) and Ixodes hexagonus (3) ticks collected from animals in veterinary clinics (184) and from vegetation in urban settlements (292). The most numerous ticks collected from animals were Ixodes ricinus (73.9%), followed by Dermacentor reticulatus (24.5%) and Ixodes hexagonus (1.6%). A total of 65.8% of the ticks collected from vegetation were Dermacentor reticulatus and 30% were Ixodes ricinus. The arthropods removed from the animals were most commonly located around the neck (48.1%) and in the mouth area (17.1%). All ticks were analyzed by molecular techniques. The percentages of ticks positive for Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum among those collected from animals differed from the corresponding rates for ticks taken from vegetation in the same area. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was more common in ticks collected from vegetation (N = 137, or 47.20%) than in those from animals (N = 12, or 6.6%). Borrelia burgdorferi, as well, was more common in ticks collected from the vegetation (N = 96, or 32.9%) than in those from animals (N = 19, or 10.5%). The DNA of A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi were detected in 30.4% and 22.8% of D. reticulatus ticks, respectively, and in 32.6% and 25.4% of I. ricinus ticks, respectively. The DNA of A. phagocytophilum was also found in one Ixodes hexagonus tick. Single infections were noted in 69 I. ricinus ticks, 56 D. reticulatus ticks and 1 I. hexagonus tick. Coinfections of A. phagocytophilum with B. burgdorferi were detected in 33 (14.0%) I. ricinus ticks and in 29 (12.24%) D. reticulatus ticks. Infected companion animals can form a reservoir for human tick-transmitted infectious agents. The monitoring of the pathogens transmitted by ticks is an important tool in preventing and combating infections transmitted to humans and animals..

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beata Dzięgiel ◽  
Tomasz Kubrak ◽  
Łukasz Adaszek ◽  
Piotr Dębiak ◽  
Dagmara Wyłupek ◽  
...  

Abstract The aim of the study was to assess the distribution of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and Babesia canis in adult females and males of Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, inhabiting meadows near large forest complexes throughout the Lubelskie Voivodship (eastern region of Poland). Ticks were collected using the flagging method. Among 720 ticks collected, 506 were identified as D. reticulatus, and 214 as I. ricinus. DNA of B. canis and B. burgdorferi s.l. was detected in 21.3% and 0.6% of D. reticulatus ticks, respectively. In I. ricinus ticks, DNA specific to B. burgdorferi s.l. and A. phagocytophilum was detected in 5.6% and 10.3%, respectively. Co-infections of B. burgdorferi s.l. and A. phagocytophilum were found in two I. ricinus ticks. These results indicate that the Lublin region is an area at risk of tick-borne diseases of humans and animals, which must be considered in clinical practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-29
Author(s):  
Samira Knežević ◽  
Irena Slavuljica ◽  
Anamarija Flego Bojić ◽  
Đurđica Cekinović-Grbeša ◽  
Lari Gorup

Lajmska borelioza i krpeljni meningoencefalitis (KME) najčešće su bolesti prenosive krpeljima u Republici Hrvatskoj. Isti vektor, krpelj roda Ixodes ricinus, odgovoran je i za prijenos humane granulocitne anaplazmoze (HGA) koja se u našoj zemlji rijetko dokazuje, a prvi slučajevi su potvrđeni 1998. godine u Koprivničko-križevačkoj županiji. HGA se najčešće klinički prezentira vrućicom s leukopenijom, trombocitopenijom, povišenim aminotransferazama i CRP-om, a potvrđuje se serološki, pri čemu se povremeno dokaže koinfekcija s virusom KME i/ili bakterijom Borrelia burgdorferi. Prikazujemo slučaj 44-godišnje bolesnice koja je ambulantno liječena u Klinici za infektivne bolesti Kliničkog bolničkog centra Rijeka zbog vrućice s bicitopenijom (leukopenija, trombocitopenija) i akutnog perikarditisa. Serološkom je obradom dokazana akutna koinfekcija uzročnicima Anaplasma phagocytophilum i Borrelia burgdorferi. Liječenje je provedeno doksiciklinom i nesteroidnim antireumaticima, čime je postignut povoljan klinički odgovor.


2021 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73
Author(s):  
Anna Grochowska ◽  
Justyna Dunaj ◽  
Sławomir Pancewicz ◽  
Piotr Czupryna ◽  
Piotr Majewski ◽  
...  

AbstractPathogens carried by ticks pose a threat to both human and animal health across the world. Typically associated with rural landscapes, ticks appear to adapt well to life in urban recreational areas. Although Dermacentor reticulatus is commonly found across Europe, data on the prevalence of pathogens in this tick species, in an urban environment, are very limited. PCR was used to examine 368 D. reticulatus individuals collected in the Zwierzyniecki Forest Nature Reserve in Białystok, Poland. In total, 10.3% of ticks were infected, with Babesia spp. (9.2%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.8%) and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (0.3%). Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., and Coxiella burnetii were not detected. Sequence analysis for Babesia-positive samples identified 79.4% of them as Babesia canis, 8.8% as Babesia microti, 5.9% as Babesia spp., 2.9% as Babesia venatorum, and 2.9% as Babesia vogeli. Results obtained in this study indicate that D. reticulatus ticks found within the urban premises of the study area are infected with at least three pathogens and therefore are an important factor in public health risk for tick-borne diseases.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 587
Author(s):  
Mirosław M. Michalski ◽  
Katarzyna Kubiak ◽  
Magdalena Szczotko ◽  
Małgorzata Dmitryjuk

This study was carried out in north-eastern Poland during two hunting seasons between 2018 and 2020. Ticks (Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus) were removed from wild cervids and boars and examined for the presence of Borrelia spirochetes and Rickettsiales members: Rickettsia spp. and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The present study contributes to the knowledge of even-toed ungulates, which are an important reservoir of the above-mentioned pathogens and a potential source of infections for humans through ticks as vectors. Almost 40% of the collected ticks (191 out of 484) were infected with the following pathogens: 3.3% with Borrelia spp., 19.2% with A. phagocytophilum and 26.9% with Rickettsia spp. Only the ticks collected from cervids carried Borrelia. Typing of the species DNA confirmed the presence of B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. lusitaniae and B. miyamotoi. An analysis of Rickettsia spp. sequences using the GenBank data revealed the presence of R. helvetica, R. raoultii and R. monacensis. Monoinfections (79.1%) dominated over co-infections (20.9%). Among co-infections, the most frequent was A. phagocytophilum/Rickettsia spp. (70%), however co-infections, including B. afzelii/A. phagocytophilum, B. afzelii/Rickettsia spp., B. miyamotoi/A. phagocytophilum and B. afzelii/B. garinii/B. lusitaniae, were also noted. Significant differences were observed in the affinity of some pathogens to their vectors. Thus, Borrelia spp. and A. phagocytophilum were more frequently detected in I. ricinus (5.3% and 23.1%) than in D. reticulatus (1.2% and 15.3%). Infection frequency with Rickettsia spp. was similar (approximately 25–29%) in both tick species. The prevalence of A. phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. in ticks removed from cervids was 19.8% and 27.1%, and in ticks from wild boars it was 13.3% and 24.4%, respectively.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégoire Perez ◽  
Suzanne Bastian ◽  
Amélie Chastagner ◽  
Albert Agoulon ◽  
Yann Rantier ◽  
...  

AbstractContextBy modifying ecosystems, land cover changes influence the emergence, the spread and the incidence of vector-borne diseases.ObjectiveThis study aimed at identifying associations between landscape structure and the prevalence of two tick-borne infectious agents, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., in small mammal communities.MethodsSmall mammals were sampled in 24 sites along a gradient of woodland fragmentation and hedgerow network density, and screened for infectious agents with real-time PCR techniques. For each site, structural variables (composition and configuration) of the surrounding landscape at various scales (0-500 m) and variables of wooded habitats connectivity based on graph theory and least cost path distances for the two dominant species, bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), were computed.ResultsThe A. phagocytophilum prevalence increased with wooded habitats cover (0-500 m), likely through host population size, and increased slightly with bank vole abundance, which has a higher reservoir competence than wood mouse. The B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence increased with wooded ecotones only at local scales (50-100 m). Wooded habitats connectivity measures did not improve models built with simple land cover variables. A more marked spatial pattern was observed for the prevalence of A. phagocytophilum than B. burgdorferi s.l..ConclusionsThis study highlights the interest of considering together the ecology of infectious agents (e.g. host specificity) and the host species community ecology to better understand the influence of the landscape structure on the spatial distribution of vector-borne infectious agents.


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