Correlation of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Prevalence in Questing Ixodes ricinus Ticks with Specific Abiotic Traits in the Western Palearctic

Abstract

This meta-analysis of reports examining ticks throughout the Western Palearctic region indicates a distinct geographic pattern for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato prevalence in questing nymphal Ixodes ricinus ticks. The greatest prevalence was reported between the 5°E and 25°E longitudes based on an analysis of 123 collection points with 37,940 nymphal tick specimens (87.43% of total nymphs; 56.35% of total ticks in the set of reports over the target area). Climatic traits, such as temperature and vegetation stress, and their seasonality correlated with Borrelia prevalence in questing ticks. The greatest prevalence was associated with mild winter, high summer, and low seasonal amplitude of temperatures within the range of the tick vector, higher vegetation indices in the May-June period, and well-connected vegetation patches below a threshold at which rates suddenly drop. Classification of the target territory using a qualitative risk index derived from the abiotic variables produced an indicator of the probability of finding infected ticks in the Western Palearctic region. No specific temporal trends were detected in the reported prevalence. The ranges of the different B. burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies showed a pattern of high biodiversity between 4°W and 20°E, partially overlapping the area of highest prevalence in ticks. Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are the dominant species in central Europe (east of ϳ25°E), but B. garinii may appear alone at southern latitudes and Borrelia lusitaniae is the main indicator species for meridional territories.

Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens at various workplaces in forest exploitation environment

“…Such a phenomenon was also observed by Petko et al (19), Wójcik-Fatla et al (28) and Nazzi et al (27). Similarly to 2006, in the presented study, it was confirmed that B. burgdorferi s.s. (26) was the dominant genospecies within B. burgdorferi s.l., whereas in most other reports from Central Europe, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii (2,7,13,24) are the genospecies which occur most frequently.…”

“…However, some authors, such as Boyard et al (23) and Estrada-Pena et al (24), indicate that the risk of exposure to Borrelia-infected ticks depends on the properties of the forest environment, such as: the composition of tree species, undergrowth, fragmentation, microclimate. These environmental conditions vary to a great extent between climate zones and countries and depend on forest managements.…”

Geographical distribution and prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies in questing Ixodes ricinus from Romania: A countrywide study

“…and its genospecies in Europe (see reviews by Hubálek and Halouzka, 1998;Rauter and Hartung, 2005). Considered individually, these data have local epidemiological importance, but retrospective modeling and metaanalysis of prevalence data resulted in valuable information on the importance of associated biotic and abiotic factors (Rauter and Hartung, 2005;Estrada-Peña et al, 2011). Although Romania is a relatively large country (ranked 13/54 in Europe in total area), with a high tick population density and available host diversity (Mihalca et al, 2012a), it has been poorly investigated from this point of view.…”

Composition and Seasonal Variation of Rhipicephalus turanicus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus Bacterial Communities

“…Indeed, the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum has been correlated with seasonal climatic changes (14). Therefore, it is expected that other microbial tenants within tick hosts are affected in the same manner.…”