Bacteria and protozoa with pathogenic potential in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Viennese recreational areas

Abstract

SummaryIxodes ricinus is the most relevant vector for tick-borne diseases in Austria and responsible for the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.), which causes Lyme borreliosis in humans; however, also other bacteria and protozoa can be found in ticks and have the potential of infecting people and animals. In this study we collected ticks in popular recreational areas in the city of Vienna in the years 2019 and 2020 and analyzed them for the presence of such putative pathogenic microorganisms. By using reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization we detected DNA of B. burgdorferi s. l., Rickettsia spp., Babesia spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis (CNM) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Moreover, we also screened them for the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi employing real-time PCR. The most frequently detected pathogens were B. burgdorferi s. l. in 28.6% of the ticks in 2019 and 21.3% of the ticks in 2020. The genus Rickettsia was detected in 13.8% of the ticks from 2019 and only in 4.6% from 2020. Babesia spp. were detected in 5.7% in 2019 and 4.2% in 2020. Furthermore, we detected CNM in 4.0% (2019) and 5.6% (2020), A. phagocytophilum in 0.5% (2019) and 1.3% (2020) and finally B. miyamotoi in 3.3% (2019) and 1.7% (2020). Collectively, we show that various microorganisms are prevalent in ticks collected in Vienna and identify hotspots for B. miyamotoi, which we have detected for the first time in the city.

Genetic Diversity of Borreliaceae Species Detected in Natural Populations of Ixodes ricinus Ticks in Northern Poland

“…The presented study revealed a zonal distribution of different spirochete species from the Borreliaceae family in Northern Poland not only by the presence or absence of particular species but also by differences in infection rates that correlate with different risks of human and animal infection. Similar differences in the distribution and infection rates are observed in other European studies [45][46][47]51,[58][59][60] but also in the case of different Borreliaceae species characteristics for Asia [61,62] and North America [63][64][65]. The cause of such zonality may be host specific, especially in the case of Borreliella species [66], and due to the differential availability in the studied area but not the climatic conditions which are similar for the entire area of research.…”

Systematic investigation of the Borrelia miyamotoi spirochetes in ticks, wildlife and domestic animal hosts in Yunnan province, Southwest China

“…The main vectors of B. miyamotoi differ in different countries, such as I. scapularis and I. pacificus in the United States, I. ricinus in Europe, I. persulcatus , I. ovatus, H. concinna and H. longicornis in China, I. persulcatus and I. pavlovski in Japan, I. ricinus and I. persulcatus in Russia [ 6 ]. An increasing number of B. miyamotoi strains in ixodid ticks have been identified in many countries including the Czech Republic, Egypt, and Austria [ [21] , [22] , [23] ]. Here, our study showed that R. microplus , I. ovatus , H. nepalensis and H. kolonini may be novel vectors of relapsing fever spirochetes in Yunnan province.…”

“…Over the past three years, an increasing number of B. miyamotoi in ixodid ticks has been identified in many countries including the Czech Republic, Egypt, and Austria [ [21] , [22] , [23] ]. There has also been an increase in human infections in France, Austria, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China [ [24] , [25] , [26] ].…”