Tick-borne diseases under the radar in the North Sea Region

Quarsten, Hanne; Henningsson, Anna J.; Krogfelt, Karen A.; Strübe, Christina; Wennerås, Christine; Mavin, Sally

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102185

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…The presence of A. phagocytophilum genetic material in I. ricinus and D. reticulatus ticks, revealed for the first time in this work, shows the active circulation of this pathogen in the Kaliningrad region. The level of infection of D. reticulatus and I. ricinus ticks (0.2% and 1.4%, respectively) corresponds to similar indicators for such countries as Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany, where the pathogen is found in 1-5% of ixodid ticks [23]. Phylogenetic analysis shows simultaneous circulation of at least 3 genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

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Genotyping of Borrelia, Rickettsia and Anaplasma in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the Kaliningrad region

Kartashov,

Volchev,

Krivosheina

et al. 2024

Journal of microbiology, epidemiology and immunobiology

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Background. Tick-borne bacterial and protozoal pathogens pose a significant public health problem. The aim of this study was to detect and genotype Borrelia, Rickettsia and Anaplasma in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks collected in the Kaliningrad region in 2021–2022. Materials and methods. The study included 862 I. ricinus and 803 D. reticulatus ticks (1665 in total) collected in 33 biotopes of the Kaliningrad region. Detection of the DNA of tick-borne pathogens was carried out in individual ticks by PCR using a set of specific primers, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results. The level of infection of I. ricinus ticks with Borrelia was 15.5%, and genotyping by the p66 gene sequence showed the presence of genetic material from four species: B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. valaisiana, and B. lusitaniae. In D. reticulatus ticks, no Borrelia genetic material was detected. The Rickettsia DNA has been found in both tick species. Moreover, the infection rate of I. ricinus ticks was 2.6%, and D. reticulatus — 21.2%. R. helvetica were found in I. ricinus ticks, and R. raoultii in meadow ticks when genotyping by gltA gene. Genetic markers of Anaplasma phagocytophilum have been found in I. ricinus and D. reticulatus ticks. Cases of co-infection of an individual tick have also been identified. Conclusion. Six different species of tick-borne pathogens were found in the I. ricinus and D. reticulatus ticks collected in the Kaliningrad region and R. helvetica, R. raoultii and A. phagocytophilum were identified for the first time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…The registered level of infection of I. r. raoultii ticks with R. helvetica in I. ricinus ticks amounted to 2.6%. In other countries of the Baltic region it ranges from 5 to 10% [23]. However, ticks of D. reticulatus species were infected with R. raoultii in 21.2% of cases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Genotyping of Borrelia, Rickettsia and Anaplasma in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the Kaliningrad region

Kartashov,

Volchev,

Krivosheina

et al. 2024

Journal of microbiology, epidemiology and immunobiology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taken together, we interpret the difference in incidences among patients receiving TNFi in the two countries to reflect the epidemiology accurately, probably due to higher tick infestation and higher prevalence of N. mikurensis among ticks in Norway (up to 25%) compared with Denmark (up to 13%). 10 The frequency of N. mikurensis among blood donors has only been scarcely studied. We found no positive samples in the cohort of 400 blood donors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neoehrlichia mikurensisis uncommon in rheumatological patients receiving tumour necrosis factor inhibitors and in blood donors: a retrospective cohort study

Gynthersen,

Ørbæk,

Høgdall

et al. 2024

RMD Open

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IntroductionNeoehrlichia mikurensisis a tick-borne bacterium that primarily causes disease in immunocompromised patients. The bacterium has been detected in ticks throughout Europe, with a 0%–25% prevalence.N. mikurensisinfection presents unspecific symptoms, which can easily be mistaken for inflammatory disease activity. We aimed to determine the prevalence ofN. mikurensisin rheumatological patients receiving tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) and a cohort of healthy individuals.Materials and methodsThis retrospective cohort study included 400 rheumatological patients treated with TNFi and 400 healthy blood donors. Plasma samples were retrieved from the Danish Rheumatological Biobank and the Danish Blood Donor Study between 2015 and 2022. Age, sex, diagnosis and duration of TNFi treatment were recovered from the Danish Rheumatological Database, DANBIO. Data on age and sex were available for the blood donors. One plasma sample per individual was tested forN. mikurensisDNA-specific real-time PCR targeting thegroELgene.ResultsIn the rheumatological patients, the median age was 61 years (IQR 55–68 years), 62% were women, and 44% had a diagnosis of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. In total, 54% of the patients were treated with infliximab. The median time from TNFi initiation to blood sampling was 20 months (IQR, 5–60 months).N. mikurensisDNA was not detected in any samples from patients or blood donors.ConclusionN. mikurensisinfection does not appear to represent a prevalent risk in Danish rheumatological patients receiving TNFi or in blood donors.

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“…In the presented case, the history revealed Anaplasma infection, which was the most probable etiology for the presentation. Anaplasma infection has been reported on rare occasions to be associated with rhabdomyolysis and in a diversity of countries and continents [ 19 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altered Mental Status on Top of Anaplasmosis-Induced Severe Rhabdomyolysis: A Rare Clinical Presentation

Memon,

Abdelghany,

Abusuliman

et al. 2023

Cureus

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Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is a disease caused by tick-borne infection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The typical symptoms are fever, malaise, and body aches accompanied by abnormal blood tests such as leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and transaminitis. Some rare complications may occur, especially in patients living in heavily wooded areas, with a mean age of 70 years. We present a case of a 67-year-old male who was admitted for lower abdominal pain, fever, and diarrhea with derangement of his blood tests. Despite treatment, his condition deteriorated and complicated rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney dysfunction. Empiric treatment including doxycycline was initiated while waiting for the infection blood work results. PCR came back positive for HGA. Empiric therapy was narrowed down to doxycycline for 14 days, and the patient's condition began to improve gradually and steadily. Aggressive hydration markedly improved rhabdomyolysis and, in turn, kidney function. Our case underscores the importance of considering HGA in ambiguous clinical scenarios and highlights the value of early diagnosis, empiric treatment, and intravenous hydration, especially in the presence of rhabdomyolysis.

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Tick-borne diseases under the radar in the North Sea Region

Cited by 8 publications

References 115 publications

Genotyping of Borrelia, Rickettsia and Anaplasma in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the Kaliningrad region

Genotyping of Borrelia, Rickettsia and Anaplasma in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the Kaliningrad region

Neoehrlichia mikurensisis uncommon in rheumatological patients receiving tumour necrosis factor inhibitors and in blood donors: a retrospective cohort study

Altered Mental Status on Top of Anaplasmosis-Induced Severe Rhabdomyolysis: A Rare Clinical Presentation

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