Prevalence of Lyme Disease Agents and Several Emerging Pathogens in Questing Ticks From the German Baltic Coast

Abstract

In summer 2008, a total of 512 Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks was collected from vegetation in four areas at the Baltic coast of Germany and tested for the presence of Lyme disease spirochetes. Among them, 293 ticks from three areas were screened for Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae), rickettsiae of the spotted fever group (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae), and Babesia spp. (Piroplasmida: Babesiidae), respectively. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) were detected in 3.1% of the tick samples. The prevalence ofA. phagocytophilum was 1.0%, rickettsiae were present in 8.5%, and pathogenic Babesia spp. in 8.9% of analyzed ticks. Coinfections occurred in five ticks. With this study we report first data on the coexistence of established and emerging pathogens in questing ticks from recreational areas of northeastern Germany, indicating the need of further studies for a reliable risk assessment.

Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens at various workplaces in forest exploitation environment

“…The percentage of ticks infected with Babesia microti in own studies was 4.1%, and it was higher than that obtained by other European researchers (2,3,8).…”

“…Among the biological agents causing occupational zoonoses, those transmitted by ticks (bacteria, viruses, protozoa) are of great importance because they cause dangerous infections in humans, often described as 'emerging zoonoses' (1)(2)(3)(4). Ticks (Ixodida) are known as vectors transmitting microbial pathogens from animals to humans, and the diseases caused by these microbes constitute a serious epidemiological problem, especially in the environment of forest exploitation and at agricultural work (4)(5)(6).…”

“…Ticks (Ixodida) are known as vectors transmitting microbial pathogens from animals to humans, and the diseases caused by these microbes constitute a serious epidemiological problem, especially in the environment of forest exploitation and at agricultural work (4)(5)(6). In Europe, the common tick -Ixodes ricinus (3,4,7,8) is the primary vector transmitting following pathogens: spirochetes Borrelia burgdorferi which belongs to the pathogenic agents obligatorily transmitted by ticks, causing a multisystem disease -borreliosis (Lyme disease), tick-borne encephalitis viruses, rickettsiae Anaplasma phagocytophilum causing human granulocytic anaplasmosis, and protozoa of the genus Babesia being the cause of babesiosis in humans (1,2,4).…”

Identification of Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies isolated from Ixodes ricinus ticks in the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic

“…In the first study, published by Hubálek et al [17], a total of 298 ticks were examined by dark field microscopy, from which 11.1% of the whole ticks collection were positive for the borreliae. A German study focusing on the federal state of Thuringia revealed only 6.1% prevalence of Bbsl in 618 collected samples analyzed by nested PCR and RFLP targeting a fragment of the ospA gene [18]. In the presented study, the lower number of successfully sequenced samples, especially in 2008 (28.6%), could have been caused by the small average G+C bases content in Bbsl genome.…”

Broad-Range Survey of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Southern Germany Reveals a High Prevalence ofBabesia microtiand a Diversity of Other Tick-Borne Pathogens

“…One study showed that infestation rates in wooded recreational areas was as great as 7.4 ticks per person per hour (Faulde and Robbins 2008), resulting in relatively high risks of pathogen exposure. Often these ticks carry multiple pathogens, raising the possibility of a co-infection with a Borrelia species and another pathogen (Loebermann et al 2006, Pichon et al 2006, Hildebrandt et al 2010b, Franke et al 2011. In Europe, studies indicate a potentially higher prevalence of Babesia species infections than previously believed with higher levels of seroreactivity to Babesia antigens in 11% and 4.4% of people exposed to ticks in Germany and Poland, respectively (Hunfeld et al 2002, Pancewicz et al 2011.…”