Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the Royal Parks of London, UK

Hansford, Kayleigh M.; McGinley, Liz; Wilkinson, Samantha; Gillingham, Emma L.; Cull, Benjamin; Gandy, Sara; Carter, Dan; Vaux, Alexander G.C.; Richards, Simon; Hayes, Alister; Medlock, Jolyon M.

doi:10.1007/s10493-021-00633-3

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…garinii dominating in southern England (Cull et al, 2021; Layzell et al, 2018). Prior to this study, and one in Richmond Park (Hansford et al, 2021), there had been very few reports of B . burgdorferi s.s. in England (Hoodless et al, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the density of Borrelia burgdorferi‐infected Ixodes ricinus ticks across a landscape: A 5‐year study in southern England

Medlock¹,

Vaux²,

Gandy³

et al. 2022

Medical Vet Entomology

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The density of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Ixodes ricinus nymphs (DIN) was investigated during 2013-2017 across a Lyme disease-endemic landscape in southern England. The density of nymphs (DON), nymph infection prevalence (NIP), and DIN varied across five different natural habitats, with the highest DIN in woodland edge and high biodiversity woodlands. DIN was significantly lower in scrub grassland compared to the woodland edge, with low DON and no evidence of infection in ticks in non-scrub grassland. Over the 5 years, DON, NIP and DIN were comparable within habitats, except in 2014, with NIP varying three-fold and DIN significantly lower compared to 2015-2017. Borrelia garinii was most common, with bird-associated Borrelia (B. garinii/valaisiana) accountingfor ~70% of all typed sequences. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto was more common than B. afzelii. Borrelia afzelii was more common in scrub grassland than woodland and absent in some years. The possible impact of scrub on grazed grassland, management of ecotonal woodland margins with public access, and the possible role of birds/gamebirds impacting NIP are discussed. Mean NIP was 7.6%, highlighting the potential risk posed by B. burgdorferi in this endemic area. There is a need for continued research to understand its complex ecology and identify strategies for minimizing risk to public health, through habitat/game management and public awareness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the density of Borrelia burgdorferi‐infected Ixodes ricinus ticks across a landscape: A 5‐year study in southern England

Medlock¹,

Vaux²,

Gandy³

et al. 2022

Medical Vet Entomology

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“…The presence of larvae was reported in over a third ( n = 46; 40.0%) of all studies. Whilst tick presence was reported from all studies, apparent absence of ticks was reported from several locations in 10 studies located in Belgium, Croatia, England, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland (Gray et al., 1999; Hansford et al., 2021; Heylen et al., 2019; Klemola et al., 2019; Krčmar et al., 2014; Maetzel et al., 2005; Mäkinen et al., 2003; Nelson et al., 2015; Oechslin et al., 2017; Olivieri et al., 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such studies suggest that higher tick density and Borrelia prevalence may not always result in higher rates of tick bites or Lyme borreliosis incidence (either diagnosed cases or serological response to antigens) and that human behaviour also needs to be considered. Similar data would provide additional risk assessment and might help to explain why some locations report relatively high DIN and visitor access, with few anecdotal reports for Lyme borreliosis (Hansford et al, 2021).…”

Section: Re Sultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Based on study site descriptions, lower risk urban green spaces associated with apparent absences of ticks appear to be centrally located urban parks of varying size, surrounded by the built environment and lacking connectivity to surrounding rural habitat. In these locations, it is likely that the lack of wildlife (perhaps due to poor connectivity), habitat suitability and management practices such as grass cutting are having a negative impact on tick presence and survival (Hansford et al, 2021; F I G U R E 9 Proportion of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies per country in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from peri/urban green space across Europe (ordered West to East), during the period 1990-2021 Heylen et al, 2019;Krčmar et al, 2014;Maetzel et al, 2005;Nelson et al, 2015;Oechslin et al, 2017).…”

Section: Re Sultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Questing Ixodes ricinus ticks and Borrelia spp. in urban green space across Europe: A review

Hansford

Wheeler

Tschirren

et al. 2022

Zoonoses and Public Health

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For more than three decades, it has been recognized that Ixodes ricinus ticks occur in urban green space in Europe and that they harbour multiple pathogens linked to both human and animal diseases. Urban green space use for health and well-being, climate mitigation or biodiversity goals is promoted, often without consideration for the potential impact on tick encounters or tick-borne disease outcomes. This review synthesizes the results of over 100 publications on questing I. ricinus and Borrelia spp. infections in ticks in urban green space in 24 European countries. It presents data on several risk indicators for Lyme borreliosis and highlights key research gaps and recommendations for future studies. Across Europe, mean density of I. ricinus in urban green space was 6.9 (range; 0.1-28.8) per 100 m 2 and mean Borrelia prevalence was 17.3% (range; 3.1%-38.1%). Similar density estimates were obtained for nymphs, which had a Borrelia prevalence of 14.2% (range; 0.5%-86.7%). Few studies provided data on both questing nymph density and Borrelia prevalence, but those that did found an average of 1.7 (range; 0-5.6) Borrelia-infected nymphs per 100 m 2 of urban green space. Although a wide range of genospecies were reported, Borrelia afzelii was the most common in most parts of Europe, except for England where B. garinii was more common. The emerging pathogen Borrelia miyamotoi was also found in several countries, but with a much lower prevalence (1.5%). Our review highlights that I. ricinus and tick-borne Borrelia pathogens are found in a wide range of urban green space habitats and across several seasons. The impact of human exposure to I. ricinus and subsequent Lyme borreliosis incidence in urban green space has not been quantified.There is also a need to standardize sampling protocols to generate better baseline data for the density of ticks and Borrelia prevalence in urban areas.

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“…Ticks and tickborne pathogens are understood to be a problem connected with rural and natural areas, but numerous recent studies have shown that urban green areas may also provide suitable ecosystems for ticks, tick-borne pathogens, and their hosts/reservoirs [1][2][3]. These ndings clearly demonstrate that urban localities, such as parks, playgrounds, zoos, and cemeteries, play an important role in the ecoepidemiology of ticks and tick-borne diseases [4][5][6][7]. Moreover, in these areas, ticks come in frequent contact with humans and their companion animals which increases the risk of tick-borne pathogens transmission.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postindustrial landscapes are neglected localities which may play an important role in the urban ecology of ticks and tick-borne diseases

Dvořáková

Klímová

Hrnková

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background Numerous recent studies have shown that ticks and tick-borne pathogens pose a considerable threat in urban areas, such as parks, playgrounds, zoos, cemeteries etc. Abandoned postindustrial localities, and other types of vague terrain, are another example of urban wilderness areas which have been absolutely neglected in respect to ticks and tick-borne pathogens thus far, even though they provide ideal biotopes for ticks. Methods The abundance of ticks and prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes were compared between a city park and an adjacent abandoned construction waste disposal site in Prague, Czechia during the 2021 tick season. Results The results showed that ticks and borrelia spirochetes are present at the city park as well as at the abandoned construction waste disposal site, although, in lower numbers. Discussion According to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the presence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in an urban postindustrial landscape. More detailed studies are needed to uncover the role of these localities in the ecology of ticks and ecoepidemiology of tick-borne diseases in urban areas.

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Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the Royal Parks of London, UK

Cited by 14 publications

References 52 publications

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the density of Borrelia burgdorferi‐infected Ixodes ricinus ticks across a landscape: A 5‐year study in southern England

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the density of Borrelia burgdorferi‐infected Ixodes ricinus ticks across a landscape: A 5‐year study in southern England

Questing Ixodes ricinus ticks and Borrelia spp. in urban green space across Europe: A review

Postindustrial landscapes are neglected localities which may play an important role in the urban ecology of ticks and tick-borne diseases

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