High seroprevalence for indigenous spotted fever group rickettsiae in forestry workers from the federal state of Brandenburg, Eastern Germany

Wölfel, Silke; Speck, Stephanie; Eßbauer, Sandra; Thoma, Bryan; Mertens, Marc; Werdermann, Sandra; Niederstraßer, Olaf; Petri, Eckhardt; Ulrich, Rainer G.; Wölfel, Roman; Dobler, Gerhard

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2016.10.009

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Studies that enrolled foresters or farmers, who are highly exposed to tick bites (Borawski et al, 2019), also reported notable seropositivity rates. In forest workers, seroprevalences of SFG were found to be 14.7% and 27.5% in Poland and Germany, respectively (Podsiadły et al, 2011;Wölfel et al, 2017). Another more recent study in North-Eastern Poland reported that rates of SFG seropositivity among foresters and farmers were 51.2% and 26.8%, respectively (Borawski et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In another study by Mane et al (2019), while significantly higher SFG IgG positivity rate was found in the age group 45 and older, SFG IgM, TG IgM, and TG IgG seropositivity rates were not significantly affected by the age group. On the other hand, studies by Espejo et al (2016), Wölfel et al (2017), andSalmon-Mulanovich et al (2019) found that older age was associated with increased seropositivity rates, which could be explained by the prolonged exposure of older people to arthropod vectors (Mane et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our finding is further supported by Jansen et al (2008) that found no statistical correlation between gender and rickettsial seropositivity in hunters. In several studies, significantly higher rates of seropositivity were reported in males (Wölfel et al, 2017;Quintero et al, 2017). This could be explained by the fact that males are more likely to be involved in outdoor occupations which might increase their exposure to ticks (Quintero et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Negative and positive serum control samples were used in each slide. In the study, samples showing specific fluorescence at a titer of 1:64 were considered to be positive (Wölfel et al, 2017).…”

Section: Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay (Ifa)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seroprevalence of rickettsial infection in northern Cyprus: A study among hunters

E.¹

2022

Trop Biomed

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This study was conducted to investigate rickettsial seropositivity among hunters, a high-risk population for tick-borne diseases in northern Cyprus. Serum samples were collected from 300 hunters from different locations during the 2017-2018 hunting season (November 2017 -February 2018). The samples were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using slides coated with Rickettsia slovaca, a species belonging to the spotted fever group (SFG). During the sample collection, a questionnaire was also applied to evaluate possible risk factors for rickettsial seropositivity. Of the 300 serum samples, six (2.0%) were found to be IgG-positive with a titer of 1:64. While all seropositive individuals were male, the statistical analysis revealed no significant association of gender with rickettsial seropositivity (p=1.000). Other factors including age (p=0.414), residential places of the participants (p=0.347), hunting years (p=0.694) or hunting abroad (p=1.000) did not significantly affect the IgG positivity. Also, no statistical correlation was found between a history of an arthropod (tick, louse, or flea) bite and rickettsial seropositivity (p=1.000). To our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates rickettsial seropositivity among human population in northern Cyprus. Our study suggests that awareness should be raised among the people especially involved in outdoor activities such as hunting, and control programs should be implemented to prevent possible rickettsiosis cases. Further serological studies using other Rickettsia spp. antigens, as well as molecular studies that search for Rickettsia spp. in humans, animals and arthropods are needed to obtain more comprehensive data on rickettsiosis in northern Cyprus.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay (Ifa)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seroprevalence of rickettsial infection in northern Cyprus: A study among hunters

E.¹

2022

Trop Biomed

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“…In humans, seroprevalences up to 12.5% against R . helvetica have been demonstrated with forest workers being predisposed to infection [ 34 – 37 ]. However, fulminant clinical cases are rare indicating a rather low pathogenicity compared to other rickettsiae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In vitro studies of Rickettsia-host cell interactions: Confocal laser scanning microscopy of Rickettsia helvetica-infected eukaryotic cell lines

et al. 2018

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Rickettsia (R.) helvetica is the most prevalent rickettsia found in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Germany. Several studies reported antibodies against R. helvetica up to 12.5% in humans investigated, however, fulminant clinical cases are rare indicating a rather low pathogenicity compared to other rickettsiae. We investigated growth characteristics of R. helvetica isolate AS819 in two different eukaryotic cell lines with focus on ultra-structural changes of host cells during infection determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Further investigations included partially sequencing of rickA, sca4 and sca2 genes, which have been reported to encode proteins involved in cell-to-cell spread and virulence in some rickettsiae. R. helvetica grew constantly but slowly in both cell lines used. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that the dissemination of R. helvetica AS819 in both cell lines was rather mediated by cell break-down and bacterial release than cell-to-cell spread. The cytoskeleton of both investigated eukaryotic cell lines was not altered. R. helvetica possesses rickA, but its expression is not sufficient to promote actin-based motility as demonstrated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Hypothetical Sca2 and Sca4 proteins were deduced from nucleotide gene sequences but the predicted amino acid sequences were disrupted or truncated compared to other rickettsiae most likely resulting in non-functional proteins. Taken together, these results might give a first hint to the underlying causes of the reduced virulence and pathogenicity of R. helvetica.

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Cats – Revered and Reviled – and Associated Zoonoses

Sing¹,

Berger²

2022

Zoonoses: Infections Affecting Humans and Animals

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High seroprevalence for indigenous spotted fever group rickettsiae in forestry workers from the federal state of Brandenburg, Eastern Germany

Cited by 17 publications

References 40 publications

Seroprevalence of rickettsial infection in northern Cyprus: A study among hunters

Seroprevalence of rickettsial infection in northern Cyprus: A study among hunters

In vitro studies of Rickettsia-host cell interactions: Confocal laser scanning microscopy of Rickettsia helvetica-infected eukaryotic cell lines

Cats – Revered and Reviled – and Associated Zoonoses

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