scholarly journals Tripartite Interactions among Ixodiphagus hookeri, Ixodes ricinus and Deer: Differential Interference with Transmission Cycles of Tick-Borne Pathogens

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra I. Krawczyk ◽  
Julian W. Bakker ◽  
Constantianus J. M. Koenraadt ◽  
Manoj Fonville ◽  
Katsuhisa Takumi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Transmission Cycle ◽  
Tripartite Interactions ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Ixodiphagus Hookeri ◽  
Questing Ticks ◽  
Tick Borne Disease ◽  
Species Groups

For the development of sustainable control of tick-borne diseases, insight is needed in biological factors that affect tick populations. Here, the ecological interactions among Ixodiphagus hookeri, Ixodes ricinus, and two vertebrate species groups were investigated in relation to their effects on tick-borne disease risk. In 1129 questing ticks, I. hookeri DNA was detected more often in I. ricinus nymphs (4.4%) than in larvae (0.5%) and not in adults. Therefore, we determined the infestation rate of I. hookeri in nymphs from 19 forest sites, where vertebrate, tick, and tick-borne pathogen communities had been previously quantified. We found higher than expected co-occurrence rates of I. hookeri with deer-associated Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and lower than expected rates with rodent-associated Borrelia afzelii and Neoehrlichia mikurensis. The prevalence of I. hookeri in nymphs varied between 0% and 16% and was positively correlated with the encounter probability of ungulates and the densities of all life stages of I. ricinus. Lastly, we investigated the emergence of I. hookeri from artificially fed, field-collected nymphs. Adult wasps emerged from seven of the 172 fed nymphs. From these observations, we inferred that I. hookeri is parasitizing I. ricinus larvae that are feeding on deer, rather than on rodents or in the vegetation. Since I. hookeri populations depend on deer abundance, the main propagation host of I. ricinus, these wasps have no apparent effect on tick populations. The presence of I. hookeri may directly interfere with the transmission cycle of A. phagocytophilum, but not with that of B. afzelii or N. mikurensis.

Long-Term Study of Borrelia and Babesia Species Distribution in Ixodes Ricinus and Dermacentor Recticulatus Ticks Removed From Humans in Poland, 2016-2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Welc-Falęciak ◽  
Małgorzata Bednarska ◽  
Adrianna Hamera ◽  
Emilia Religa ◽  
Milena Poryszewka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Risk ◽  
Babesia Species ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Questing Ticks ◽  
Tick Borne Disease ◽  
Larger Sample ◽  
Better Than

Abstract Monitoring changes in the prevalence of different Borrelia genospecies/ species in ticks might be an important indicator of risk assessment and of differences in pathogenicity in humans. Furthermore, the evaluation of pathogens in feeding ticks represents the risk of human exposure better than studies on questing ticks. The objective of our study was to assess the prevalence and distribution of Borrelia and Babesia species in ticks removed from humans, in a larger sample collected for several months during four years of studies. We confirmed high Borrelia prevalence, including B. miyamotoi, in ticks removed from humans as well as the shift in Borrelia genospecies/ species frequency of occurrence during the four-year study. Despite the fact that Babesia prevalence was relatively low, the majority of tested isolates are considered to be pathogenic for humans. The results of our study have also shown that Borrelia and Babesia coinfections in ticks are more common in Borrelia-infected ticks. Even if the overall risk of developing Lyme borreliosis after a tick bite in Europe is rather low, the knowledge of prevalence and distribution of Borrelia and Babesia species in ticks might be an important indicator of both tick-borne disease risk and pathogenicity assessment.

The Distribution and economic Importance of Ixodes ricinus (L.) in Wales and the Welsh Border Counties with special Reference to N.W. Cardiganshire

1951 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Owen Evans
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Tick Infestation ◽  
Dermacentor Reticulatus ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Relative Area ◽  
Grazing Land ◽  
Nardus Stricta ◽  
Tick Borne Disease ◽  
The Common ◽  
Cattle And Sheep

Ixodes ricinus is the common tick infesting farmstock in Wales. Dermacentor reticulatus is recorded on cattle and sheep on two farms in N. Cardiganshire.I. ricinus is widely distributed in the four major grassland zones of N.W. Cardiganshire. The most extensive areas of tick infestation are found on the marginal and hill farms. In lowland areas, except on extensive stretches of marshland, infested pastures are confined to isolated tracts of badly managed or poorly drained land. Infested grazings are invariably “rough” and contain one of the following plants as dominant: Festuca spp., Agrostis spp., Molinia caerulea, Nardus stricta, Pteris aquilina or Juncus spp. The degree of infestation of cattle depends on the relative area of the available grazing land colonised by the tick. Continuous stocking of infested pastures results in heavy infestations and vice versa.Bovine piroplasmosis is the major tick-borne disease in N.W. Cardiganshire and predominates in the lowland districts. Outbreaks of the disease on marginal and hill farms are generally infrequent. Reasons are suggested for this phenomenon. Tick pyaemia is confined to lambs on hill grazings. The incidence of this disease is low.The distribution of the tick in Wales and the border counties of Hereford and Salop shows a general relationship to areas of rough grazing. The tick is widespread in the western counties and is almost absent in the border counties. Radnorshire and Breconshire are interesting in that they have few infested farms in relation to the extensive nature of the “rough” grazing. A survey has also been conducted of the incidence of bovine piroplasmosis in Wales.

scholarly journals PCR Detection of Granulocytic Ehrlichiae in Ixodes ricinus Ticks and Wild Small Mammals in Western Switzerland

2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 1002-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge S. Liz ◽  
Laurence Anderes ◽  
John W. Sumner ◽  
Robert F. Massung ◽  
Lise Gern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Common Shrew ◽  
Wood Mouse ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Questing Ticks ◽  
Ixodes Ricinus Ticks ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Dual Infections

The presence of granulocytic ehrlichiae was demonstrated by PCR inIxodes ricinus ticks and wild small mammals in Switzerland in two areas of endemicity for bovine ehrlichiosis. Six ticks (three females and three nymphs) (1.4%) of 417 I. ricinus ticks collected by flagging vegetation contained ehrlichial DNA. A total of 201 small mammals from five species, wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), earth vole (Pitymys subterraneus), bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), and common shrew (Sorex araneus), were trapped. The analysis of I. ricinus mammals collected on 116 small mammals showed that nine C. glareolus voles and two A. sylvaticus mice hosted infected tick larvae. In these rodents, granulocytic ehrlichia infection was also detected in blood, spleen, liver, and ear samples. Further examinations of 190 small mammals without ticks or with noninfected ticks showed the presence of ehrlichial DNA in spleen and other tissues from six additional C. glareolus, three A. flavicollis, and one S. araneus mammals. This study suggests thatA. sylvaticus, A. flavicollis, S. araneus, and particularly C. glareolus are likely to be natural reservoirs for granulocytic ehrlichiae. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of granulocytic ehrlichiae from ticks and rodents showed a high degree of homology (99 to 100%) with granulocytic ehrlichiae isolated from humans. In contrast, groESL heat shock operon sequence analysis showed a strong divergence (approximately 5%) between the sequences in samples derived from rodents and those derived from samples from questing ticks or from other published ehrlichia sequences. Dual infections with granulocytic ehrlichia andBorrelia burgdorferi were found in ticks and small mammals.

An experimental evaluation of conventional control measures against the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae). II. The dynamics of the tick-host interaction

1985 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Randolph ◽  
Gordon M. Steele
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Stocking Density ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Contact Rate ◽  
Host Interaction ◽  
Questing Ticks

AbstractThe experimental manipulation of separate, but originally identical, populations of Ixodes ricinus (L.) by applying three conventional tick control measures in different enclosures on naturally infested moorland in Wales allowed the elements of the tick-host interaction to be analysed quantitatively and the effectiveness of the control methods to be compared. From the relationship between the sheep stocking density and the numbers of questing ticks picked up by fortnightly blanket-dragging in each enclosure, the death rate of ticks during their activity season and the rate of contact between sheep and ticks were calculated. From this, it was possible to investigate the effect of different stocking densities on the feeding success of ticks. A major factor determining the much lower contact rate for larvae than for nymphs was the different spatial distribution of questing ticks, clumped for larvae and random for nymphs. The non-random use by sheep of the three different vegetation zones in the paddock resulted in the highest contact rate between sheep and ticks in the pasture area, but tick survival was apparently highest in the bog area. Combining these factors resulted in the prediction that the bracken area was the least favourable habitat for ticks. In the two enclosures where the sheep were not treated with acaricide the mean tick loads on the sheep were similar, but the lower overall use of the pasture by the sheep in the low stocking density enclosure (2/ha) resulted in slightly lower tick loads there compared with those in the high stocking density enclosure (4/ha). The numbers of ticks counted in the second year showed that pasture spelling was the most effective control method, acaricide treatment was less effective, and the benefits of halving the stocking density were marginal. The implications of these results for control strategies are discussed.

scholarly journals Detection of tick-borne pathogens in questing Ixodes ricinus in the French Pyrenees and first identification of Rickettsia monacensis in France

Parasite ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toufic Akl ◽  
Gilles Bourgoin ◽  
Marie-Line Souq ◽  
Joël Appolinaire ◽  
Marie-Thérèse Poirel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Pathogen Detection ◽  
Spotted Fever ◽  
Spotted Fever Group ◽  
Rupicapra Pyrenaica ◽  
Rickettsia Monacensis ◽  
Animal Pathogens ◽  
Questing Ticks ◽  
Pyrenean Chamois ◽  
First Time

Ticks are important vectors of several human and animal pathogens. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of important tick-borne infections in questing ticks from an area in Southwestern France (Hautes-Pyrénées) inhabited by Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica) experiencing high tick burden. We examined adult and nymph ticks collected by the flag dragging method from 8 to 15 sites in the Pic de Bazès during the years 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. PCR assays were conducted on selected ticks for the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Babesia spp., Rickettsia spp., spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Randomly selected positive samples were submitted for sequence analysis. A total of 1971 questing ticks were collected including 95 males, 101 females and 1775 nymphs. All collected ticks were identified as Ixodes ricinus. Among them, 696 ticks were selected for pathogen detection and overall prevalence was 8.4% for B. burgdorferi s.l.; 0.4% for Babesia spp.; 6.1% for A. phagocytophilum; 17.6% for Rickettsia spp.; and 8.1% for SFG Rickettsia. Among the sequenced pathogens, we detected in this population of ticks the presence of Babesia sp. EU1 and Rickettsia helvetica, as well as Rickettsia monacensis for the first time in France. The detection of these pathogens in the Pic de Bazès highlights the potential infection risks for visitors to this area and the Pyrenean chamois population.

scholarly journals Local Population Structure and Seasonal Variability of Borrelia garinii Genotypes in Ixodes ricinus Ticks, Slovakia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuzana Mtierová ◽  
Markéta Derdáková ◽  
Michal Chvostáč ◽  
Yuliya M. Didyk ◽  
Barbara Mangová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Infection Intensity ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Borrelia Garinii ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Questing Ticks ◽  
Ixodes Ricinus Ticks

Lyme disease (LD) is the most common tick-borne human disease in Europe, and Borrelia garinii, which is associated with avian reservoirs, is one of the most genetically diverse and widespread human pathogenic genospecies from the B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex. The clinical manifestations of LD are known to vary between regions and depend on the genetic strain even within Borrelia genospecies. It is thus of importance to explore the genetic diversity of such pathogenic borreliae for the wide range of host and ecological contexts. In this study, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was employed to investigate the local population structure of B. garinii in Ixodes ricinus ticks. The study took place in a natural wetland in Slovakia, temporally encompassing spring and autumn bird migration periods as well as the breeding period of resident birds. In total, we examined 369 and 255 ticks collected from 78 birds and local vegetation, respectively. B. burgdorferi s.l. was detected in 43.4% (160/369) of ticks recovered from birds and in 26.3% (67/255) of questing ticks, respectively. Considering the ticks from bird hosts, the highest prevalence was found for single infections with B. garinii (22.5%). Infection intensity of B. garinii in bird-feeding ticks was significantly higher than that in questing ticks. We identified ten B. garinii sequence types (STs) occurring exclusively in bird-feeding ticks, two STs occurring exclusively in questing ticks, and one ST (ST 244) occurring in both ticks from birds and questing ticks. Four B. garinii STs were detected for the first time herein. With the exception of ST 93, we detected different STs in spring and summer for bird-feeding ticks. Our results are consistent with previous studies of the low geographic structuring of B. garinii genotypes. However, our study reveals some consistency in local ST occurrence and a geographic signal for one of the clonal complexes.

Valuation when baselines are changing: Tick-borne disease risk and recreational choice

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 101119
Author(s):  
Daniel Slunge ◽  
Thomas Sterner ◽  
Wiktor Adamowicz
Keyword(s):  
Disease Risk ◽  
Tick Borne Disease

scholarly journals Detection of Wolbachia in the Tick Ixodes ricinus is Due to the Presence of the Hymenoptera Endoparasitoid Ixodiphagus hookeri

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. e30692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Plantard ◽  
Agnès Bouju-Albert ◽  
Marie-Astrid Malard ◽  
Axelle Hermouet ◽  
Gilles Capron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Ixodiphagus Hookeri

scholarly journals Invasive honeysuckle eradication reduces tick-borne disease risk by altering host dynamics

2010 ◽  
Vol 107 (43) ◽  
pp. 18523-18527 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. F. Allan ◽  
H. P. Dutra ◽  
L. S. Goessling ◽  
K. Barnett ◽  
J. M. Chase ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Risk ◽  
Tick Borne Disease
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