Low probability of a dilution effect for Lyme borreliosis in Belgian forests

Ruyts, Sanne C.; Landuyt, Dries; Ampoorter, Evy; Heylen, Dieter; Ehrmann, Steffen; Coipan, Elena Claudia; Matthysen, Erik; Sprong, Hein; Verheyen, Kris

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.04.016

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…), detection of the spirochetes in larvae has previously been described, at a low prevalence [50]. In line with other studies in Belgium and neighbouring countries, the rodent-associated B. afzelii was the most common Borrelia genospecies (52.4%), followed by B. garinii (21.1%) [24, 39, 51–53]. Both are dominant genospecies in ticks in Europe [54].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Prevalence of pathogens in ticks collected from humans through citizen science in Belgium

et al. 2019

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BackgroundIn order to evaluate the risk of human exposure to tick-borne pathogens in Belgium, a study on the prevalence of several pathogens was conducted on feeding ticks removed from humans in 2017.MethodsUsing a citizen science approach based on an existing notification tool for tick bites, a sample of ticks was collected across the country. Collected ticks were screened by PCR for the presence of the following pathogens: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato), Borrelia miyamotoi, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Rickettsia helvetica and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV).ResultsIn total, 1599 ticks were included in the sample. The great majority of ticks belonged to Ixodes ricinus (99%); other tick species were identified as Ixodes hexagonus (0.7%) and Dermacentor reticulatus (0.3%). Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) was detected in 14% of nymphs and adult ticks. Adult ticks (20%) were more likely to be infected than nymphs (12%). The most common genospecies were B. afzelii (52%) and B. garinii (21%). Except for TBEV, the other tick-borne pathogens studied were all detected in the tick sample, although at a lower prevalence: 1.5% for Babesia spp.; 1.8% for A. phagocytophilum; 2.4% for B. miyamotoi; 2.8% for N. mikurensis; and 6.8% for R. helvetica. Rickettsia raoultii, the causative agent of tick-borne lymphadenopathy, was identified for the first time in Belgium, in two out of five D. reticulatus ticks. Co-infections were found in 3.9% of the examined ticks. The most common co-infection was B. burgdorferi (s.l.) + N. mikurensis.ConclusionsAlthough for most of the tick-borne diseases in Belgium, other than Lyme borreliosis, no or few cases of human infection are reported, the pathogens causing these diseases were all (except for TBEV) detected in the tick study sample. Their confirmed presence can help raise awareness among citizens and health professionals in Belgium on possible diseases other than Lyme borreliosis in patients presenting fever or other non-characteristic symptoms after a tick bite.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Prevalence of pathogens in ticks collected from humans through citizen science in Belgium

et al. 2019

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“…Trees: The effect of the type of forest on the disease was tested in thirteen studies. One of them [125] presented analyses that were also part of a larger study [126]. Another was designed to test the interaction between the type of forest and grazing by cattle and did not test for an effect of the type of forest alone [127].…”

Section: Landscape-related Exposuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

What evidence exists on the impact of specific ecosystem components and functions on infectious diseases? A systematic map

et al. 2021

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Background The control and prevention of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases is often based on the reduction of host or vector populations, involving but not limited to preventative culling and use of insecticides. Yet, destructive interventions such as these have shown several limitations including ineffectiveness on arthropods and negative impacts on ecosystems. An alternative strategy would be to rely on the natural ecosystem functions and their careful management to regulate such diseases. The goal of our work was to evaluate existing scientific evidence on potential links between ecosystem components/functions and 14 vector-borne and zoonotic diseases impacting human health and answer the question: “What evidence exists on the impact of specific ecosystem components and functions on infectious diseases?”. Methods We searched for scientific articles published in English and French and screened them in a 3-round process (title, abstract and full-text). Articles were retained, without any geographical limitation, if they matched the following eligibility criteria: an exposure/intervention linked to changes in biological communities, habitats, or landscapes; an outcome consisting of any measure of infection in vector, animal or human hosts; and the presence of a comparator, in time and/or in space. The results are presented as a systematic map, followed by a narrative review where the amount of papers allowed for synthesis. Results Searches in 5 scientific publication databases allowed to retrieve 9723 unique articles, among which 207 were retained after the screening process. The amount of relevant literature was highly variable depending on diseases, and the types of exposures also varied greatly among studies focusing on the same disease. A hundred articles presented in the map were unique in their “disease x exposure” combination and thus not eligible for further narrative description. The remaining 107 articles were organized in 34 “disease x exposure” groups, encompassing 9 out of the 14 initial diseases. The groups were composed of 2 to 16 articles and were examined to provide a description of the current state of knowledge for those diseases. Conclusion Studies investigating the interaction between infectious diseases and ecosystems components and functions are still very scarce, and certain diseases are much more studied than others. Out of 14 diseases, 8 generated less than 10 relevant articles, while 2 diseases (Lyme disease and West Nile disease) represented 44% of all relevant studies. Although several vector-borne diseases included in the review represent a major health issue in the world, such as malaria or dengue, they have been exclusively studied under the prism of land-use, and we were unable to find relevant studies that tested the regulatory role of animal biodiversity-related functions. The role of predation in the regulation of vector and host populations has rarely been studied, with the exception of schistosomiasis. The dilution and amplification effects were addressed in several studies focusing on the composition of ecological communities. This map is a first step and could be upgraded in order to guide future research projects with the aim to conduct meta-analysis and build a robust evidence base to inform decision-making.

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“…We identified manuscripts on the topic of infectious disease, including both outbreaks and emergence of directly transmitted and vector-borne infections, relevant to biodiversity. Selected studies investigated the zoonoses bartonellosis [12], bovine tuberculosis [13,14], echinococcosis [15], hantavirus [16][17][18][19][20][21][22], leptospirosis [23], Lyme disease [18][19][20][21][22] and West Nile virus [18,21,[24][25][26][27], and vector-borne diseases Chaga's disease [28], malaria [18,29,30], schistosomiasis [12,18,31] and tick-borne encephalitis [32].…”

Section: Infectious Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

Links between biodiversity and human infectious and non-communicable diseases: a review

Crump¹,

Martinoli²,

Zinsstag³

2021

Swiss Med Wkly

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INTRODUCTION: Biodiversity has intrinsic value and a fundamental role in human health. The relationship between them is complex, and the specific sustaining processes are still not well understood. In view of the rapidly evolving landscape, this literature review investigated scientific evidence for specific links between biodiversity and human infectious and non-communicable diseases to characterise identifiable relationships.METHODS: A search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases using keyword algorithms identified relevant manuscripts published between 1 January 2000 and 18 April 2019. Qualitative data were extracted from 155 studies investigating links between or mechanisms linking biodiversity and infectious disease, non-communicable disease, allergic/inflammatory disease and microbiomes. RESULTS: None of the reviewed studies documented causal evidence for a mechanism linking biodiversity and human health. The main mechanisms proposed to link biodiversity and transmission of infectious disease were dilution and amplification. The dilution hypothesis argues that an increase in species diversity leads to a decrease in pathogen prevalence. The amplification effect is the converse, that there is a positive correlation between species diversity and disease risk/infection prevalence. Several driving factors are postulated, including encounter reduction, interspecies competition and predation. In addition, it appears that scale, both spatial and temporal, highly impacts diversity-disease relationships. There is strong evidence that the early environment of a child, including maternally transferred prenatal signals, affects immune maturation, modifying later disease risk. Bi-directional axes communicate between the gut microbiome and the brain, as well as between the skin microbiome and the lung, leading to direct and indirect immune, humoral and neural mechanisms. The main challenges in assessing links between biodiversity and human health are the wide variation in definitions of health and biodiversity, and the heterogeneity in types of studies encountered, as well as the complexity of interactions in dynamic systems. CONCLUSIONS: Contextually adapted integrative approaches, which maintain dialogue across disciplines and amongst all stakeholders, are most likely to generate robust evidence. Because of the relevance of local scale, research engagement must occur across levels to generate legitimate practices and translate into sustainable, equitable policies. Recommendations for future action include: improve the knowledge base on contribution of biodiversity to health, increase awareness of health effects of natural and near-natural environments and biodiversity, and promote synergies by increasing policy coherence.

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Low probability of a dilution effect for Lyme borreliosis in Belgian forests

Cited by 20 publications

References 63 publications

Prevalence of pathogens in ticks collected from humans through citizen science in Belgium

Prevalence of pathogens in ticks collected from humans through citizen science in Belgium

What evidence exists on the impact of specific ecosystem components and functions on infectious diseases? A systematic map

Links between biodiversity and human infectious and non-communicable diseases: a review

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