Sciensano, Belgian Institute for Health, Brussels, Belgium.
Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Nov 21;12(1):550. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3806-z.
In order to evaluate the risk of human exposure to tick-borne pathogens in Belgium, a study on the prevalence of several pathogens was conducted on feeding ticks removed from humans in 2017.
Using a citizen science approach based on an existing notification tool for tick bites, a sample of ticks was collected across the country. Collected ticks were screened by PCR for the presence of the following pathogens: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato), Borrelia miyamotoi, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Rickettsia helvetica and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV).
In total, 1599 ticks were included in the sample. The great majority of ticks belonged to Ixodes ricinus (99%); other tick species were identified as Ixodes hexagonus (0.7%) and Dermacentor reticulatus (0.3%). Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) was detected in 14% of nymphs and adult ticks. Adult ticks (20%) were more likely to be infected than nymphs (12%). The most common genospecies were B. afzelii (52%) and B. garinii (21%). Except for TBEV, the other tick-borne pathogens studied were all detected in the tick sample, although at a lower prevalence: 1.5% for Babesia spp.; 1.8% for A. phagocytophilum; 2.4% for B. miyamotoi; 2.8% for N. mikurensis; and 6.8% for R. helvetica. Rickettsia raoultii, the causative agent of tick-borne lymphadenopathy, was identified for the first time in Belgium, in two out of five D. reticulatus ticks. Co-infections were found in 3.9% of the examined ticks. The most common co-infection was B. burgdorferi (s.l.) + N. mikurensis.
Although for most of the tick-borne diseases in Belgium, other than Lyme borreliosis, no or few cases of human infection are reported, the pathogens causing these diseases were all (except for TBEV) detected in the tick study sample. Their confirmed presence can help raise awareness among citizens and health professionals in Belgium on possible diseases other than Lyme borreliosis in patients presenting fever or other non-characteristic symptoms after a tick bite.
为了评估人类接触蜱传病原体的风险，2017 年对从人类身上取下的进食蜱进行了几种病原体的流行情况研究。
利用基于现有蜱叮咬通报工具的公民科学方法，在全国范围内采集蜱样本。采集的蜱通过 PCR 检测以下病原体的存在情况：嗜吞噬细胞无形体、巴贝虫、伯氏疏螺旋体（疏螺旋体属）、米氏巴贝虫、新立克次体、瑞士赫尔维蒂亚立克次体和蜱传脑炎病毒（TBEV）。
共纳入 1599 只蜱。绝大多数蜱属于蓖子硬蜱（99%）；其他蜱种鉴定为扇头硬蜱（0.7%）和全沟硬蜱（0.3%）。在幼蜱和成年蜱中均检测到伯氏疏螺旋体（s.l.），感染率分别为 14%和 20%。成年蜱的感染率高于幼蜱。最常见的基因种是伯氏疏螺旋体（52%）和伽氏疏螺旋体（21%）。除 TBEV 外，研究的其他蜱传病原体也在蜱样本中均有检出，不过检出率较低：巴贝虫 1.5%；嗜吞噬细胞无形体 1.8%；米氏巴贝虫 2.4%；新立克次体 2.8%；瑞士赫尔维蒂亚立克次体 6.8%。首次在比利时发现了蜱传淋巴结病的病原体拉乌尔氏菌，在 5 只全沟硬蜱中有 2 只检出。在 3.9%的检查蜱中发现了合并感染。最常见的合并感染是伯氏疏螺旋体（s.l.）+新立克次体。
尽管在比利时，除莱姆病外，大多数蜱传疾病报告的人类感染病例较少或没有，但在蜱研究样本中均检测到这些疾病的病原体。它们的确认存在有助于提高比利时民众和卫生专业人员的认识，即除莱姆病外，在蜱叮咬后出现发热或其他非特征性症状的患者中，可能患有其他疾病。
