Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK.
Parasitology. 2013 Feb;140(2):237-46. doi: 10.1017/S003118201200145X. Epub 2012 Sep 24.
Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common arthropod-borne disease of humans in the Northern hemisphere. In Europe, the causative agent, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, is principally vectored by Ixodes ricinus ticks. The aim of this study was to identify environmental factors influencing questing I. ricinus nymph abundance and B. burgdorferi s.l. infection in questing nymphs using a large-scale survey across Scotland. Ticks, host dung and vegetation were surveyed at 25 woodland sites, and climatic variables from a Geographical Information System (GIS) were extracted for each site. A total of 2397 10 m2 transect surveys were conducted and 13 250 I. ricinus nymphs counted. Questing nymphs were assayed for B. burgdorferi s.l. and the average infection prevalence was 5·6% (range 0·8-13·9%). More questing nymphs and higher incidence of B. burgdorferi s.l. infection were found in areas with higher deer abundance and in mixed/deciduous compared to coniferous forests, as well as weaker correlations with season, altitude, rainfall and ground vegetation. No correlation was found between nymph abundance and infection prevalence within the ranges encountered. An understanding of the environmental conditions associated with tick abundance and pathogen prevalence may be used to reduce risk of exposure and to predict future pathogen prevalence and distributions under environmental changes.
莱姆病（LB）是北半球最常见的人类节肢动物传播疾病。在欧洲，病原体伯氏疏螺旋体复合群主要由蓖麻蜱传播。本研究的目的是利用苏格兰的一项大规模调查，确定影响蓖麻蜱幼蜱数量和幼蜱中伯氏疏螺旋体 s.l. 感染的环境因素。在 25 个林地地点调查了蜱、宿主粪便和植被，并为每个地点提取了地理信息系统（GIS）中的气候变量。共进行了 2397 次 10 m2 横截线调查，共计数了 13 250 只蓖麻蜱幼蜱。对幼蜱进行了伯氏疏螺旋体 s.l. 检测，平均感染率为 5.6%（范围为 0.8-13.9%）。在鹿密度较高的地区以及在混合/落叶林而非针叶林中，发现了更多的幼蜱和更高的伯氏疏螺旋体 s.l. 感染发生率，并且与季节、海拔、降雨量和地面植被的相关性较弱。在所遇到的范围内，幼蜱数量和感染率之间没有相关性。了解与蜱数量和病原体流行率相关的环境条件，可用于降低暴露风险，并预测未来环境变化下病原体的流行率和分布。
