Abstract
BackgroundRaising abundance of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Europe is the result of multiple factors including climate changes and human activities. Herein, we investigated the presence and seasonal activity of Ixodes ricinus ticks from 10 urban and suburban sites in two different geographical areas of southeastern and northeastern Slovakia during 2008–2010. Our aim was to study the abundance of ticks in correlation with the environmental factors and their infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Neoehrlichia mikurensis.MethodsQuesting I. ricinus ticks were collected from ten urban and suburban sites in Eastern Slovakia. A total of 670 ticks were further analysed for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l., A. phagocytophilum and N. mikurensis by molecular methods. Tick site and environmental relations were analysed using General Linear Models (LM). The differences between the number of Lyme borreliosis cases between the Košice and Bardejov regions during a ten-year period were tested by Wilcoxon matched pairs test.ResultsIn total, 2921 (1913 nymphs, 1008 adults) I. ricinus ticks were collected from 10 study sites during the main questing season. Tick activity and relative abundance differed between locations and months. Temperature and humidity were the main factors affecting the tick abundance and questing activity. Out of 670 examined ticks, 10.15% were infected with spirochetes from B. burgdorferi s.l. complex (represented by B. afzelii, B. garinii, B.valaisiana and B. burgdorferi s.s.), 2.69% with the A. phagocytophilum and 2.39% with N. mikurensis. The number of Lyme borreliosis cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the Bardejov region was significantly higher than in the Košice region.ConclusionsOur data indicate that the risk of infection with tick-borne pathogens in Eastern Slovakia is common since 15.2% of ticks were infected at least with one of the tested microorganisms. Even though the abundance of ticks was affected by the microclimatic conditions and the prevalence of pathogens differed between the habitats, the infection risk for humans is also affected by human activities leading to an increased contact with infected ticks.
Highlights
Raising abundance of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Europe is the result of multiple factors including climate changes and human activities
Another bacterial zoonotic disease, transmitted by I. ricinus, is granulocytic anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum
Five model sites were selected in suburban forest and urban parks of Košice – a large urban agglomeration in southeastern Slovakia with previously known high occurrence of ticks and its infection with Borrelia as well as Anaplasma [29] and five sites were selected in Bardejov- a small town in northeastern Slovakia, with a cooler climate and very few data on presence of ticks
Summary
Raising abundance of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Europe is the result of multiple factors including climate changes and human activities. The most commonly occurring and the most serious bacterial agents transmitted by this tick in Europe are spirochetes from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex They are causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, the multisystemic disorder that is maintained in natural foci in a wide spectrum of vertebrate reservoir hosts [9]. The highest yearly incidence is in Central Europe, namely in Austria and Slovenia, with 130 and 136 cases per 100 000 inhabitants [13] Another bacterial zoonotic disease, transmitted by I. ricinus, is granulocytic anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in questing ticks in Slovakia varies from 1.1 to 7.8% [17] Neoehrlichia mikurensis is another tick-borne pathogen from the family Anaplasmataceae that attracts the attention of public health professionals in Europe. It was detected in a chronically neutropenic dog from Germany [28]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
