Laboratory for Medical Arachnoentomology, Centre for Parasitic Zoonoses, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, 11129 Belgrade, Dr Subotića 4, POB 102, 11129 Belgrade, Serbia.
Parasite. 2010 Sep;17(3):211-7. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2010173211.
The list of tick-borne pathogens is long, varied and includes viruses, bacteria, protozoa and nematodes. As all of these agents can exist in ticks, their co-infections have been previously reported. We studied co-infections of emerging bacterial pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Francisella tularensis) in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Serbia. Using PCR technique, we detected species-specific sequences, rrf-rrl rDNA intergenic spacer for B. burgdorferi s.l., p44/msp2 paralogs for A. phagocytophilum, and the 17 kDa lipoprotein gene, TUL4, for F. tularensis, respectively, in total DNA extracted from the ticks. Common infections with more than one pathogen were detected in 42 (28.8%) of 146 infected I. ricinus ticks. Co-infections with two pathogens were present in 39 (26.7%) of infected ticks. Simultaneous presence of A. phagocytophilum and different genospecies of B. burgdorferi s.l. complex was recorded in 16 ticks, co-infection with different B. burgdorferi s. l. genospecies was found in 15 ticks and eight ticks harbored mixed infections with F. tularensis and B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies. Less common were triple pathogen species infections, detected in three ticks, one infected with A. phagocytophilum / B. burgdorferi s.s. / B. lusitaniae and two infected with F. tularensis / B. burgdorferi s.s. / B. lusitaniae. No mixed infections of A. phagocytophilum and F. tularensis were detected.
蜱传病原体种类繁多，包括病毒、细菌、原生动物和线虫。由于所有这些病原体都可能存在于蜱中，因此它们的合并感染以前就有报道。我们研究了塞尔维亚伊蚊中的新兴细菌病原体（博尔纳病螺旋体、嗜吞噬细胞无形体和土拉弗朗西斯菌）的合并感染。使用 PCR 技术，我们分别从蜱总 DNA 中检测到了种特异性序列、B. burgdorferi s.l. 的 rrf-rrl rDNA 基因间 spacer、A. phagocytophilum 的 p44/msp2 旁系同源物和 F. tularensis 的 17 kDa 脂蛋白基因 TUL4。在 146 只感染的伊蚊中，共检测到 42 只（28.8%）存在多种病原体的共同感染。在感染的蜱中，39 只（26.7%）存在两种病原体的合并感染。在 16 只蜱中同时存在嗜吞噬细胞无形体和不同的博尔纳病螺旋体复合种，在 15 只蜱中同时存在不同的博尔纳病螺旋体复合种，在 8 只蜱中同时存在土拉弗朗西斯菌和博尔纳病螺旋体复合种的混合感染。在 3 只蜱中检测到三重病原体种感染，1 只感染嗜吞噬细胞无形体/博尔纳病 s.s./博氏疏螺旋体，2 只感染土拉弗朗西斯菌/博尔纳病 s.s./博氏疏螺旋体，这些情况较为少见。未检测到嗜吞噬细胞无形体和土拉弗朗西斯菌的混合感染。
