Ostfeld Richard S, Adish Sahar, Mowry Stacy, Bremer William, Duerr Shannon, Evans Andrew S, Fischhoff Ilya R, Keating Fiona, Pendleton Jennifer, Pfister Ashley, Teator Marissa, Keesing Felicia
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA.
Department of Behavioral and Community Health, Dutchess County, NY 12601, USA.
Parasitology. 2024 Aug;151(9):946-952. doi: 10.1017/S0031182024000349. Epub 2024 Mar 18.
Medically important ixodid ticks often carry multiple pathogens, with individual ticks frequently coinfected and capable of transmitting multiple infections to hosts, including humans. Acquisition of multiple zoonotic pathogens by immature blacklegged ticks () is facilitated when they feed on small mammals, which are the most competent reservoir hosts for (which causes anaplasmosis in humans), (babesiosis) and (Lyme disease). Here, we used data from a large-scale, long-term experiment to ask whether patterns of single and multiple infections in questing nymphal ticks from residential neighbourhoods differed from those predicted by independent assortment of pathogens, and whether patterns of coinfection were affected by residential application of commercial acaricidal products. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used for pathogen detection in multiplex reactions. In control neighbourhoods and those treated with a fungus-based biopesticide deployed against host-seeking ticks (Met52), ticks having only single infections of either or were significantly less common than expected, whereas coinfections with these 2 pathogens were significantly more common. However, use of tick control system bait boxes, which kill ticks attempting to feed on small mammals, eliminated the bias towards coinfection. Although aimed at reducing the abundance of host-seeking ticks, control methods directed at ticks attached to small mammals may influence human exposure to coinfected ticks and the probability of exposure to multiple tick-borne infections.
具有医学重要性的硬蜱通常携带多种病原体，单个蜱虫经常被多重感染，并且能够将多种感染传播给宿主，包括人类。未成熟的黑腿蜱（）在以小型哺乳动物为食时更容易感染多种人畜共患病原体，小型哺乳动物是嗜吞噬细胞无形体（可导致人类无形体病）、巴贝斯虫（巴贝斯虫病）和伯氏疏螺旋体（莱姆病）最适宜的储存宿主。在此，我们利用一项大规模长期实验的数据，来探究居民区中 questing 若蜱的单一和多重感染模式是否与病原体独立分配所预测的模式不同，以及混合感染模式是否受到商业杀螨产品在居民区应用的影响。多重聚合酶链反应定量聚合酶链反应用于病原体检测。在对照社区以及用针对寻找宿主的蜱虫（Met52）的真菌基生物农药处理过的社区中，仅单一感染嗜吞噬细胞无形体或伯氏疏螺旋体的蜱虫比预期的明显少见，而这两种病原体的混合感染则明显更为常见。然而，使用蜱虫控制系统诱饵盒（可杀死试图以小型哺乳动物为食的蜱虫）消除了对混合感染的偏向。尽管旨在减少寻找宿主的蜱虫数量，但针对附着在小型哺乳动物身上的蜱虫的控制方法可能会影响人类接触混合感染蜱虫的情况以及接触多种蜱传感染的概率。
