Results of Epizootiological Monitoring of Natural Foci for Bacterial Vector-Borne Infections in Caucasian Mineral Waters Region of the Stavropol Territory in 2018–2020

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the epizootiological situation on bacterial vector-borne infections in Caucasian Mineral Waters area of the Stavropol Territory over the period of 2018–2020.Materials and methods. 3494 specimens of ticks (473 pools), 257 specimens of small mammals, 9 regurgitates of birds of prey and mammals, 7 excreta samples of small mammals, and 2 water samples were tested. Laboratory research of the field material was carried out using molecular-genetic, serological, biological methods. Statistical analysis of laboratory results was conducted using Microsoft Excel 2010. The data were mapped using QGIS 2.18 software.Results and discussion. The study revealed that the 44.8 % of collected ticks were positive for tick-borne borreliosis, 21.5 % – for tick-borne rickettsiosis, 10.3% – for human granulocytic anaplasmosis, 2.7 % – for Q fever, 0.84 % – for tularemia. There has been an increase in the percentage of positives for tick-borne borreliosis agent samples (more than three times) and a decrease in this indicator for human granulocytic anaplasmosis (1.5 times) as compared with 2010–2012. Investigation of tick infection with the agents of Q fever and tick-borne rickettsioses has not been previously conducted in the region. During the period under review, 19 pools of ticks had mixed infection, which indicates that there are combined foci of bacterial natural-focal infections with vector-borne transmission in the recreation zone of the Stavropol Territory. This necessitates preventive measures and systematical epizootiological surveys in the Caucasian Mineral Waters region.

Checklist of hosts, illustrated geographical range, and ecology of tick species from the genus Ixodes (Acari, Ixodidae) in Russia and other post-Soviet countries

“…15 ). Russia : Rostov Oblast ( Khametova et al 2018 ), Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, Kalmyk Republic, Chechnya, Dagestan, and North Osetia-Alania ( Shatas 1957 ; Shevchenko et al 1960 ; Zaytsev and Popova 1967 ; Tiflova 1974 ; Filippova 1977 ; Abdulmagomedov et al 2017 ; Zaytseva et al 2022 ). Ukraine : Odesa Oblast (Bugeac Steppe), Kherson Oblast (Black Sea Biosphere Reserve), Poltava Oblast, Chernivtsi Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, widely distributed in the Crimean Peninsula ( Emchuk 1960 ; Emchuk 1967 ; Sklyar 1970 ; Filippova 1977 ).…”