Comparative Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
Parasit Vectors. 2011 Jul 15;4:135. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-4-135.
Only limited information is available about the occurrence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in public parks, which are areas strongly influenced by human beings. For this reason, Ixodes ricinus were collected in public parks of different Bavarian cities in a 2-year survey (2009 and 2010) and screened for DNA of Babesia spp., Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. by PCR. Species identification was performed by sequence analysis and alignment with existing sequences in GenBank. Additionally, coinfections with Anaplasma phagocytophilum were investigated.
The following prevalences were detected: Babesia spp.: 0.4% (n = 17, including one pool of two larvae) in 2009 and 0.5 to 0.7% (n = 11, including one pool of five larvae) in 2010; Rickettsia spp.: 6.4 to 7.7% (n = 285, including 16 pools of 76 larvae) in 2009. DNA of Bartonella spp. in I. ricinus in Bavarian public parks could not be identified. Sequence analysis revealed the following species: Babesia sp. EU1 (n = 25), B. divergens (n = 1), B. divergens/capreoli (n = 1), B. gibsoni-like (n = 1), R. helvetica (n = 272), R. monacensis IrR/Munich (n = 12) and unspecified R. monacensis (n = 1). The majority of coinfections were R. helvetica with A. phagocytophilum (n = 27), but coinfections between Babesia spp. and A. phagocytophilum, or Babesia spp. and R. helvetica were also detected.
I. ricinus ticks in urban areas of Germany harbor several tick-borne pathogens and coinfections were also observed. Public parks are of particularly great interest regarding the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens, because of differences in both the prevalence of pathogens in ticks as well as a varying species arrangement when compared to woodland areas. The record of DNA of a Babesia gibsoni-like pathogen detected in I. ricinus suggests that I. ricinus may harbor and transmit more Babesia spp. than previously known. Because of their high recreational value for human beings, urban green areas are likely to remain in the research focus on public health issues.
关于 ticks 和 tick-borne 病原体在受人类强烈影响的公共公园中的发生情况，仅有有限的信息。为此，我们在为期两年的调查（2009 年和 2010 年）中在巴伐利亚州的不同城市的公共公园中收集了硬蜱，并通过 PCR 检测了伯氏疏螺旋体、立克次氏体和巴尔通体的 DNA。通过序列分析和与 GenBank 中现有序列的比对进行了物种鉴定。此外，还研究了与嗜吞噬细胞无形体的合并感染。
检测到以下流行率：巴贝斯虫属：2009 年为 0.4%（n = 17，包括一对幼虫的一个池），2010 年为 0.5%至 0.7%（n = 11，包括五个幼虫的一个池）；立克次氏体：2009 年为 6.4%至 7.7%（n = 285，包括 16 个 76 个幼虫的池）。巴伐利亚州公共公园中的硬蜱中无法鉴定出 Bartonella spp. 的 DNA。序列分析揭示了以下物种：巴贝斯虫 EU1（n = 25）、伯氏疏螺旋体（n = 1）、伯氏疏螺旋体/卡波西（n = 1）、类似吉氏巴贝斯虫（n = 1）、立氏立克次体（n = 272）、罗蒙氏立克次体 IrR/Munich（n = 12）和未指定的罗蒙氏立克次体（n = 1）。大多数合并感染是嗜吞噬细胞无形体与立氏立克次体（n = 27）之间的合并感染，但也检测到巴贝斯虫属和嗜吞噬细胞无形体之间以及巴贝斯虫属和立氏立克次体之间的合并感染。
德国城市地区的硬蜱携带多种 tick-borne 病原体，也观察到合并感染。公共公园在 tick-borne 病原体的流行病学方面具有特别重要的意义，因为病原体在蜱中的流行率以及与林地相比的物种排列存在差异。在硬蜱中检测到的类似吉氏巴贝斯虫的病原体 DNA 的记录表明，硬蜱可能携带和传播比以前已知的更多的巴贝斯虫属。由于其对人类的高娱乐价值，城市绿地很可能仍然是公共卫生问题研究的重点。
