Kazimírová Mária, Mahríková Lenka, Hamšíková Zuzana, Stanko Michal, Golovchenko Maryna, Rudenko Natalie
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84506 Bratislava, Slovakia.
Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 04001 Košice, Slovakia.
Microorganisms. 2023 Jun 27;11(7):1666. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11071666.
Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most prevalent tick-borne human infection in Europe, with increasing incidence during the latest decades. Abundant populations of the main vector of the causative agent, spirochetes from the sensu lato () complex, have been observed in urban and suburban areas of Europe, in general, and Slovakia, particularly. Understanding the spread of infectious diseases is crucial for implementing effective control measures. Global changes affect contact rates of humans and animals with -infected ticks and increase the risk of contracting LB. The aim of this study was to investigate spatial and temporal variation in prevalence of and diversity of its species in questing from three sites representing urban/suburban, natural and agricultural habitat types in Slovakia. nymphs and adults were collected by dragging the vegetation in green areas of Bratislava town (urban/suburban habitat), in the Small Carpathians Mountains (natural habitat) (south-western Slovakia) and in an agricultural habitat at Rozhanovce in eastern Slovakia. presence in ticks was detected by PCR and species were identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). s.l. species in coinfected ticks were identified by reverse line blot. Significant spatial and temporal variability in prevalence of infected ticks was revealed in the explored habitats. The lowest total prevalence was detected in the urban/suburban habitat, whereas higher prevalence was found in the natural and agricultural habitat. Six species were detected by RFLP in each habitat type - sensu stricto (s.s.), , , , and . Coinfections accounted for 3% of the total infections, whereby was identified by RLB and sequencing in mixed infection with s.s, and This finding represents the first record of in questing in Slovakia and Europe. Variations in the proportion of species were found between nymphs and adults, between years and between habitat types. Spatial variations in prevalence patterns and proportion of species were also confirmed between locations within a relatively short distance in the urban habitat. Habitat-related and spatial variations in prevalence and distribution of species are probably associated with the local environmental conditions and vertebrate host spectrum. Due to the presence of species pathogenic to humans, all explored sites can be ranked as areas with high epidemiological risk.
莱姆病（LB）是欧洲最常见的蜱传人类感染疾病，在最近几十年发病率不断上升。一般来说，在欧洲的城市和郊区，特别是在斯洛伐克，已观察到病原体——狭义（sensu stricto，s.s.）疏螺旋体复合群的主要传播媒介数量众多。了解传染病的传播对于实施有效的控制措施至关重要。全球变化影响人类和动物与感染蜱虫的接触率，并增加感染莱姆病的风险。本研究的目的是调查斯洛伐克代表城市/郊区、自然和农业栖息地类型的三个地点的蜱虫中莱姆病疏螺旋体的患病率及其物种多样性的时空变化。若虫和成虫通过在布拉迪斯拉发市（城市/郊区栖息地）、小喀尔巴阡山脉（自然栖息地）（斯洛伐克西南部）的绿地以及斯洛伐克东部罗扎诺夫采的农业栖息地拖拽植被来收集。通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测蜱虫中莱姆病疏螺旋体的存在，并通过限制性片段长度多态性（RFLP）鉴定物种。通过反向线杂交鉴定共感染蜱虫中的狭义疏螺旋体复合群物种。在所探索的栖息地中，感染蜱虫的患病率存在显著的时空变异性。在城市/郊区栖息地检测到的总患病率最低，而在自然和农业栖息地发现的患病率较高。通过RFLP在每种栖息地类型中检测到六种狭义疏螺旋体复合群物种——狭义疏螺旋体（s.s.）、伽氏疏螺旋体、阿氏疏螺旋体、双鞭毛疏螺旋体、伯氏疏螺旋体和温氏疏螺旋体。共感染占总感染的3%，其中在与狭义疏螺旋体、伽氏疏螺旋体和阿氏疏螺旋体的混合感染中通过反向线杂交和测序鉴定出温氏疏螺旋体。这一发现代表了斯洛伐克和欧洲在搜寻蜱虫中首次记录到温氏疏螺旋体。在若虫和成虫之间、年份之间以及栖息地类型之间发现了狭义疏螺旋体复合群物种比例的差异。在城市栖息地相对较短距离内的不同地点之间也证实了患病率模式和狭义疏螺旋体复合群物种比例的空间差异。狭义疏螺旋体复合群患病率和分布的栖息地相关和空间差异可能与当地环境条件和脊椎动物宿主谱有关。由于存在对人类致病的狭义疏螺旋体复合群物种，所有探索地点都可列为高流行病学风险地区。
