First Record of a Suspected Human-Pathogenic Species in Populations of the Bat Tick in Sweden.

The bat tick has been reported from Sweden to occasionally feed on humans resulting in disease symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate as a potential vector and reservoir of species. In 2015 and 2018 in south-central Sweden, ticks were collected from a wooden bat box harboring Soprano pipistrelle bats, . In addition, one tick found inside a house in southern Sweden in 2019 was collected. Ticks were screened for spp. using a genus-specific quantitative PCR assay. The species of the positive specimens were determined by conventional PCR followed by DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. A total of 24% (22 of 92) of the analyzed ticks were -positive. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the bacteria belong to the relapsing fever group of borreliae; some of them appear to be identical with sp. CPB1, a spirochete only found twice before-in the United Kingdom and in France. Our results also indicate a temporal and spatial distribution of this species. Since occasionally bites humans, and since it exhibits a high prevalence of bacteria, it is possible that it presents a risk of human disease. Further studies are needed to characterize sp. CPB1 to determine if it is human-pathogenic and to determine if is a vector and/or reservoir of this agent.