Abstract
A passive surveillance of tick-borne pathogens was conducted over a 7-year period (2006–2012), in which a total of 3551 ticks were submitted to the University of Massachusetts for PCR testing. The vast majority of these ticks were Ixodes scapularis from Massachusetts (N = 2088) and hence were the focus of further analysis. Two TaqMan duplex qPCR assays were developed to test I. scapularis ticks for the presence of three human pathogens: Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti. I. scapularis submissions were concentrated from Cape Cod, the eastern half of the state outside of the Boston metropolitan area, parts of Franklin and Hampshire counties along the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, and southwestern Berkshire county. Differences in seasonal activity pattern were observed for different developmental stages of I. scapularis. The largest proportion of tick bite victims were age 9 years and under. Nymphal ticks were found more often on lower extremities of their hosts, while more adult ticks were found on the head. Overall infection rate of B. burgdorferi, A. phagocytophilum, and B. microti in human-biting ticks was 29.6%, 4.6%, and 1.8%, respectively. B. burgdorferi-infected ticks were widely distributed, but A. phagocytophilum- and B. microti-infected I. scapularis were found mainly in the eastern half of the state. We found that 1.8%, 1.0%, and 0.4% of ticks were coinfected by B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi and B. microti, and A. phagocytophilum and B. microti, respectively, and 0.3% of ticks had triple coinfection.
Highlights
The black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, transmits the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme borreliosis, the most commonly reported arthropod-borne illness in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2015)
We found that 1.8%, 1.0%, and 0.4% of ticks were coinfected by B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi and B. microti, and A. phagocytophilum and B. microti, respectively, and 0.3% of ticks had triple coinfection
We examined the distribution of ticks and tick-borne pathogens, B. burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti, in Massachusetts using Geographic information system (GIS) maps and PCR-based screening of total genomic DNA isolated from I. scapularis
Summary
The black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, transmits the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme borreliosis, the most commonly reported arthropod-borne illness in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2015). These same ticks are important vectors for other human diseases, including anaplasmosis and babesiosis. The geographic distribution of these ticks and the pathogens they carry are not uniform, but patchy and discontinuous. Geographic information system (GIS) maps of tick and tick-borne pathogen distributions provide crucial information for awareness, prevention, and prediction of tickborne diseases (Daniel et al 2004)
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