Coinfections of Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia helvetica with Borrelia lusitaniae in ticks collected in a Safari Park, Portugal

Role of the Lizard Teira dugesii as a Potential Host for Ixodes ricinus Tick-Borne Pathogens

“…Rickettsia-positive amplicons showed 100% sequence identity with gltA (341/341 bp) and ompB (384/384 bp) of R. helvetica (GenBank accession numbers U59723 and HQ232251) and 100% identity with gltA (341/341 bp) and ompB (384/384 bp) of R. monacensis (GenBank accession numbers HM149283 and EU883092), previously detected in Portuguese ticks (6,12). Two main genetic variants of B. lusitaniae were detected in the intergenic spacer (IGS) partial sequence from 5S (rrf) to 23S (rrl): variant 1, presenting 100% identity to PotiB6, a tick isolate previously reported on Madeira Island (GenBank accession number EU078961) (6), and variant 2, detected in only one tick and showing 100% identity to PoAnB1, a Portuguese isolate from Apodemus sylvaticus (GenBank accession number EF647595) (7).…”

Update on Tick-Borne Rickettsioses around the World: a Geographic Approach

“…9). These bacteria have been found in Dermacentor marginatus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in a great majority of European countries, with a high percentage of ticks infected with these bacteria (208,(280)(281)(282)(283)(284)(285)(286)(287)(288)(289)(290). Dermacentor ticks usually bite hairy domestic and wild animals (291).…”

“…Rickettsia monacensis was detected in I. ricinus ticks in Spain, Portugal, Italy (including Sardinia), Turkey, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany (including Greifswalder Oie Island), Sweden, Slovakia, Albania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, northwestern Russia (Kaliningrad), Belarus, and Poland (208,280,283,289,(297)(298)(299)(300)(301). The prevalence of R. monacensis in ticks varied between 1% in Germany, 15% in Serbia, 35% Turkey, and 57% in Italy (299,302).…”

Molecular screening of ticks for the presence of Rickettsia species: A public health concern

“…slovaca and R. raoultii are two closely related Rickettsia spp. that are found in many European countries and the major vectors of these bacteria are Dermacentor marginatus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks as a high percentage of these ticks have been reported to be infected with these bacteria [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. In a study conducted in Spain, R. slovaca was reported to be 16% in the blood samples of sheep, over 21% in goats and cattle [6] while the bacterial DNA has also been detected in blood sample obtained from goat, thus suggesting the possibility of R. slovaca being haboured in domestic ruminants [41].…”