Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Francisella tularensis and their co-infections in host-seeking Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Serbia

• Published in: Experimental & applied acarology Vol. 45; no. 3-4; pp. 171 - 183
• Main Authors: Milutinović, Marija, Masuzawa, Toshiyuki, Tomanović, Snežana, Radulović, Željko, Fukui, Takashi, Okamoto, Yoshihiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 01-08-2008; Springer Netherlands; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Anaplasma phagocytophilum - genetics; Anaplasma phagocytophilum - isolation & purification; Animal Ecology; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Animals; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Borrelia burgdorferi; Borrelia burgdorferi Group - genetics; Borrelia burgdorferi Group - isolation & purification; Borrelia infections; Entomology; Female; Francisella tularensis; Francisella tularensis - genetics; Francisella tularensis - isolation & purification; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health risks; Human bacterial diseases; Infectious diseases; Ixodes - microbiology; Ixodes ricinus; Ixodidae; Life Sciences; Male; Medical sciences; Medically important nuisances and vectors, pests of stored products and materials: population survey and control; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Public health; Serbia; Tropical bacterial diseases; Vectors. Intermediate hosts; Serbia; Europe; Lyme disease; Prevalence; Spirochaetaceae; Anaplasmosis; Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Acari; Spirochaetosis; Pathogenic; Bacteria; Vector; Ixodidae; Public health; Parasitiformes; Borrelia burgdorferi; Rickettsialosis; Spirochaetales; Borrelia infection; Parasite; Host; Infection; Arachnida; Geographic distribution; Ixodida; Arthropoda; Bacteriosis; Ectoparasite; Ixodes ricinus; Invertebrata; Francisella tularensis
• ISSN: 0168-8162; 1572-9702
• DOI: 10.1007/s10493-008-9166-6

To evaluate the prevalence rate of tick-borne bacterial pathogens, unfed adult Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected from vegetation in 2001, 2003, and 2004 at 18 localities throughout Serbia. A total of 287 ticks were examined by PCR technique for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Francisella tularensis. The highest prevalence rate was that for B. burgdorferi sensu lato (42.5%), followed by A. phagocytophilum (13.9%) and F. tularensis (3.8%). The presence of five B. burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies, namely, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. lusitaniae, and B. valaisiana was identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The most frequent B. burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies was B. lusitaniae, followed by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. Co-infection by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. lusitaniae was frequently observed. Co-infection by B. burgdorferi sensu lato and A. phagocytophilum and co-infection by B. burgdorferi sensu lato and F. tularensis appeared in 24 ticks. Sequencing of p44/msp2 paralogs of Serbian A. phagocytophilum showed that they were unique and distinct from those of A. phagocytophilum in US and UK. This is the first report of B. garinii, B. lusitaniae, B. valaisiana, as well as A. phagocytophilum and F. tularensis infected ticks in Serbia. These findings indicate a public health threat in Serbia of tick-borne diseases caused by B. burgdorferi sensu lato, A. phagocytophilum and F. tularensis.