Biernat Beata, Cieniuch Stella, Stańczak Joanna
Department of Tropical Parasitology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland.
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2014;21(4):689-92. doi: 10.5604/12321966.1129915.
TBEV (Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) is an etiologic agent of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), the most important arboviral human infection involving the central nervous system. The disease is endemic in a zone extending from central and eastern Europe to Siberia and Japan, and corresponds to the distribution of the ixodid ticks, which act both as the vectors and reservoir of TBEV. Humans acquire infection mainly by the bite of an infected tick. A continuous increase of TBE cases throughout Europe has been observed over a period of 30 years. The objective of this study was a preliminary determination of the infection level of ticks collected in North-Eastern Poland, the endemic area of TBE. Questing Ixodes ricinus ticks (adults, nymphs and larvae) were collected by flagging the lower vegetation in 55 locations in Poland in 2006-2009. A total of 2075 ticks (676 females, 555 males, 799 nymphs and 45 larvae) were collected and examined for the presence of RNA TBEV by nested RT-PCR. The average number of ticks in one pool was 6.98. The minimum infection rate of ticks with TBEV was estimated in total area as 0.96%. TBEV RNA was detected in all of the investigated developmental stages of ticks. The prevalence of viral infection in ticks is a useful indicator of TBE virus circulation and may be used for risk assessment of the degree of natural focus activity and of the risk to contact TBE in a particular natural habitat.
蜱传脑炎病毒（黄病毒科，黄病毒属）是蜱传脑炎（TBE）的病原体，蜱传脑炎是涉及中枢神经系统的最重要的虫媒病毒人类感染疾病。该病在从中欧和东欧延伸至西伯利亚及日本的区域呈地方流行性，这与硬蜱的分布相对应，硬蜱既是蜱传脑炎病毒的传播媒介，也是其储存宿主。人类主要通过被感染的蜱叮咬而感染。在30年的时间里，整个欧洲的蜱传脑炎病例持续增加。本研究的目的是初步测定在蜱传脑炎流行地区波兰东北部采集的蜱的感染水平。2006 - 2009年期间，通过在波兰55个地点对低矮植被进行挥旗采样，收集了饥饿的蓖麻硬蜱（成虫、若虫和幼虫）。共收集了2075只蜱（676只雌蜱、555只雄蜱、799只若虫和45只幼虫），并通过巢式逆转录聚合酶链反应检测蜱传脑炎病毒RNA的存在。每个样本池中的蜱平均数量为6.98只。在整个区域估计蜱传脑炎病毒的最低感染率为0.96%。在蜱的所有被调查发育阶段均检测到了蜱传脑炎病毒RNA。蜱中病毒感染的流行率是蜱传脑炎病毒传播的一个有用指标，可用于自然疫源地活动程度的风险评估以及在特定自然栖息地接触蜱传脑炎风险的评估。
