Abstract
BackgroundIxodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus are the main vectors of Lyme borreliosis spirochetes and several other zoonotic bacteria in northern Europe and Russia. However, few studies screening bacterial pathogens in Finnish ticks have been conducted. Therefore, reports on the occurrence and prevalence of several bacterial pathogens detected from ticks elsewhere in Europe and Russia are altogether missing from Finland. The main aim of the current study was to produce novel data on the occurrence and prevalence of several tick-borne bacterial pathogens in ticks collected from southwestern Finland.MethodsTicks were collected in 2013–2014 by blanket dragging from 25 localities around southwestern Finland, and additionally from a dog in Lempäälä. Collected ticks were molecularly identified and screened for Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Borrelia miyamotoi, Rickettsia, Bartonella and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis using quantitative PCR. Furthermore, detected Rickettsia spp. were sequenced using conventional PCR to determine species.ResultsA total of 3169 ticks in 1174 DNA samples were screened for the listed pathogens. The most common bacteria detected was B. burgdorferi (s.l.) (18.5 % nymphal and 23.5 % adult ticks), followed by Rickettsia spp. (1.1 %; 5.1 %) and B. miyamotoi (0.51 %; 1.02 %). B. miyamotoi and Rickettsia spp. were also detected in larval samples (minimum infection rates 0.31 % and 0.21 %, respectively). Detected Rickettsia spp. were identified by sequencing as R. helvetica and R. monacensis. All screened samples were negative for Bartonella spp. and Ca. N. mikurensis.ConclusionsIn the current study we report for the first time the presence of Rickettsia in Finnish ticks. Furthermore, Rickettsia spp. and B. miyamotoi were found from larval tick samples, emphasizing the importance they may have as vectors of these pathogens. Comparisons of tick density estimates and B. burgdorferi (s.l.) prevalence made between the current study and a previous study conducted in 2000 in ten out of the 25 study localities suggest that an increase in tick abundance and B. burgdorferi (s.l.) prevalence has occurred in at least some of the study localities.
Highlights
Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus are the main vectors of Lyme borreliosis spirochetes and several other zoonotic bacteria in northern Europe and Russia
The main aim of the current study was to produce novel data of tick-borne bacterial pathogens in Finnish ticks by determining the occurrence and prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), B. miyamotoi, Rickettsia, Bartonella and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis in ticks collected from southwestern Finland
A total of 3169 ticks in 1174 DNA samples were screened for Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), B. miyamotoi, Bartonella, Rickettsia, and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis
Summary
Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus are the main vectors of Lyme borreliosis spirochetes and several other zoonotic bacteria in northern Europe and Russia. In Northern Europe and Western Russia, Lyme borreliosis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) spirochetes is Bacteria of the genus Borrelia are commonly found in ticks all over the world. These spirochetes are the causative agents for two well-defined human infections: Lyme. A species of Borrelia not belonging to the B. burgdorferi (s.l.) species complex has been reported from hard ticks in Europe This species, Borrelia miyamotoi, belongs to the relapsing fever group of Borrelia, which are usually transmitted by soft ticks (Argasidae). Whereas Lyme borreliosis cases are relatively common and well documented [4], human patient cases linked with B. miyamotoi infection have only been reported recently [11,12,13,14,15]
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