Tarageľová Veronika Rusňáková, Mahríková Lenka, Selyemová Diana, Václav Radovan, Derdáková Markéta
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 06 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2016 Mar;7(2):350-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.12.006. Epub 2015 Dec 9.
Lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in Europe. It is caused by spirochaetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex and transmitted to humans by ticks of the genus Ixodes. Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, and Borrelia valaisiana are the most common genospecies in Central Europe. In contrast, Borrelia lusitaniae predominates in Mediterranean countries such as Portugal, Morocco, and Tunisia. In Slovakia, its prevalence is low and restricted to only a few sites. The aim of our research was to study the expansion of ticks into higher altitudes in the ecosystem of the Malá Fatra mountains (north Slovakia) and their infection with B. burgdorferi s.l. pathogens. Questing ticks were collected by flagging in seven years (2004, 2006-2011) at three different altitudes: low (630-660 m above sea level (ASL)), intermediate (720-750 m ASL), and high (1040-1070 m ASL). Tick abundance was highest at the lowest altitude and lowest at the highest altitude. The average infection prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in nymphs and adults was 16.8% and 36.2%, respectively. The number of infected ticks decreased from 38.5% at the lowest altitude to 4.4% at the highest altitude. B. lusitaniae was the most frequently found genospecies (>60% of the ticks found positive for B. burgdorferi s.l.) in all sites in all the studied years with the exception of 2008 when B. afzelii predominated (62%). Our study confirms the spread of Ixodes ricinus ticks to higher altitudes in Slovakia. The discovery that our mountain study sites were a natural foci of B. lusitaniae was unexpected because this genospecies is usually associated with lizards and xerothermic habitats.
莱姆病螺旋体病是欧洲最常见的蜱传疾病。它由广义伯氏疏螺旋体（Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato，s.l.）复合体的螺旋体引起，并通过硬蜱属蜱虫传播给人类。阿氏疏螺旋体（Borrelia afzelii）、伽氏疏螺旋体（Borrelia garinii）和瓦莱疏螺旋体（Borrelia valaisiana）是中欧最常见的基因种。相比之下，葡萄牙疏螺旋体（Borrelia lusitaniae）在葡萄牙、摩洛哥和突尼斯等地中海国家占主导地位。在斯洛伐克，其流行率较低，仅局限于少数地区。我们研究的目的是研究蜱虫在小法特拉山脉（斯洛伐克北部）生态系统中向更高海拔地区的扩散情况以及它们感染广义伯氏疏螺旋体病原体的情况。在2004年、2006 - 2011年的七年时间里，通过拖旗法在三个不同海拔高度采集蜱虫：低海拔（海拔630 - 660米）、中海拔（海拔720 - 750米）和高海拔（海拔1040 - 1070米）。蜱虫数量在最低海拔处最高，在最高海拔处最低。广义伯氏疏螺旋体在若虫和成虫中的平均感染率分别为16.8%和36.2%。感染蜱虫的数量从最低海拔处的38.5%降至最高海拔处的4.4%。除了2008年阿氏疏螺旋体占主导地位（62%）外，在所有研究年份的所有地点，葡萄牙疏螺旋体都是最常发现的基因种（>60%的蜱虫广义伯氏疏螺旋体检测呈阳性）。我们的研究证实了蓖麻硬蜱在斯洛伐克向更高海拔地区的扩散。我们在山区的研究地点是葡萄牙疏螺旋体的自然疫源地这一发现出乎意料，因为这种基因种通常与蜥蜴和干热栖息地有关。
