Abstract
The primary objectives of this study were (1) to determine the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in ticks removed from patients for the purpose of singling out sites with increased risk of Lyme borreliosis, and (2) to determine the presence of IgM and/or IgG antibodies against B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.) complex in sera of patients who had ticks removed. From 108 ticks removed from patients, all were examined zoologically and a sub-sample of 91 ticks was tested using PCR analysis to determine the presence of DNA indicating B. burgdorferi infection. To detect anti-Borrelia IgM and/ or IgG antibodies in 61 patients bitten by ticks, we used line recombinant immunoblot test. The most common tick identified was Ixodes ricinus. B. burgdorferi s. l. was present in 37 of 91 tested ticks (40.7%). Seroconversion against B. burgdorferi s. l. antigen was detected in 12 of 61 patients (19.7%). Most of the infected ticks were from the province of Vojvodina (11 municipalities), with the city of Novi Sad proving to be the site with the highest number of infected ticks, 6 in total.
Highlights
Lyme borreliosis is a multisystemic tick-borne disease caused by bacteria from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (B. burgdorferi s. l.)
Tick species and developmental stage identification All the examined ticks (n=108) belonged to the family Ixodidae, with the species I. ricinus accounting for 102 ticks
One hundred and eight specimens of ticks removed from the skin of patients at the Pasteur Institute in Novi Sad were identified as belonging to four species: I. ricinus (n=102), R. sanguineus (n=3), D. marginatus (n=2) and H. punctata (n=1)
Summary
Lyme borreliosis is a multisystemic tick-borne disease caused by bacteria from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (B. burgdorferi s. l.). Lyme borreliosis is a multisystemic tick-borne disease caused by bacteria from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex In Europe, the dominant role in transmitting and maintaining the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis belongs to the hard ticks from the genus Ixodes, primarily Ixodes ricinus (Jensen et al, 2000). According to available data in Serbia, a third of the I. ricinus population in the country is infected with B. burgdorferi (Potkonjak, 2018). L. complex contains around 18 species and two genomospecies. The total number of species is subject to change, as new isolates are continually being described on a genetic and antigenic basis. The species with the highest pathogenic potential for humans are B. afzelli, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto The species B. bissetti, B. valaisiana and B. lusitaniae are considered only mildly pathogenic for humans (Rudenko et al, 2011)
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