Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfections, Medical University of Białystok, Żurawia 14, 15-540, Białystok, Poland.
Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Białystok, Waszyngtona 15A, 15-269, Białystok, Poland.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2021 Sep;85(1):63-73. doi: 10.1007/s10493-021-00655-x. Epub 2021 Sep 15.
Pathogens carried by ticks pose a threat to both human and animal health across the world. Typically associated with rural landscapes, ticks appear to adapt well to life in urban recreational areas. Although Dermacentor reticulatus is commonly found across Europe, data on the prevalence of pathogens in this tick species, in an urban environment, are very limited. PCR was used to examine 368 D. reticulatus individuals collected in the Zwierzyniecki Forest Nature Reserve in Białystok, Poland. In total, 10.3% of ticks were infected, with Babesia spp. (9.2%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.8%) and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (0.3%). Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., and Coxiella burnetii were not detected. Sequence analysis for Babesia-positive samples identified 79.4% of them as Babesia canis, 8.8% as Babesia microti, 5.9% as Babesia spp., 2.9% as Babesia venatorum, and 2.9% as Babesia vogeli. Results obtained in this study indicate that D. reticulatus ticks found within the urban premises of the study area are infected with at least three pathogens and therefore are an important factor in public health risk for tick-borne diseases.
蜱携带的病原体对全球人类和动物的健康构成威胁。蜱通常与农村景观相关联，但似乎能很好地适应城市休闲区的生活。虽然在整个欧洲都广泛存在红纹硬蜱，但有关这种蜱种在城市环境中病原体流行情况的数据非常有限。本研究使用 PCR 技术，对波兰比亚韦斯托克的日温次林斯基森林自然保护区中采集的 368 只红纹硬蜱进行了检测。结果显示，共有 10.3%的蜱虫受到感染，其中巴贝斯虫病（9.2%）、嗜吞噬细胞无形体病（0.8%）和伯氏疏螺旋体病（0.3%）。未检测到立克次体病、巴尔通体病和寇热螺旋体病。对巴贝斯虫阳性样本进行序列分析，发现其中 79.4%为犬巴贝斯虫，8.8%为微小巴贝斯虫，5.9%为巴贝斯虫病，2.9%为贝氏巴贝斯虫，2.9%为 vogeli 巴贝斯虫。本研究结果表明，在研究区域城市环境中发现的红纹硬蜱至少感染了三种病原体，因此是蜱传疾病公共卫生风险的一个重要因素。
