Prevalence of tick-borne bacterial pathogens in Germany-has the situation changed after a decade?

INTRODUCTION

Tick-borne pathogens, such as spp., spp., and spp., are frequently detected in Germany. They circulate between animals and tick vectors and can cause mild to severe diseases in humans. Knowledge about distribution and prevalence of these pathogens over time is important for risk assessment of human and animal health.

METHODS

nymphs were collected at different locations in 2009/2010 and 2019 in Germany and analyzed for tick-borne pathogens by real-time PCR and sequencing.

RESULTS

spp. were detected with a prevalence of 11.96% in 2009/2010 and 13.10% in 2019 with and as dominant species. was detected in seven ticks and in coinfection with or . spp. showed a prevalence of 8.82% in 2009/2010 and 1.68% in 2019 with the exclusive detection of . The prevalence of spp. was 1.00% in 2009/2010 and 7.01% in 2019. A was detected in seven tick samples. None of the nymphs were positive for .

DISCUSSION

Here, observed changes in prevalence were not significant after a decade but require longitudinal observations including parameters like host species and density, climatic factors to improve our understanding of tick-borne diseases.