title: Prevalence of four species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and coinfection with Anaplasma phagocytophila in Ixodes ricinus ticks in central Germany.
abstract: A total of 305 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from three areas of Thuringia in central Germany were investigated for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species and Anaplasma phagocytophila. Overall, 11.1% were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and 2.3% with Anaplasma phagocytophila. Adult ticks showed a significantly higher rate of infection with both borreliae and Anaplasma phagocytophila. Borrelia garinii (55.9%) was detected most frequently, followed by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (32.4%), Borrelia afzelii (17.6%), and Borrelia valaisiana (5.9%). Four ticks had dual infection with Borrelia garinii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. Two of the Borrelia-positive ticks were coinfected with Anaplasma phagocytophila.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Semmelweisstrasse 4, 07743 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hildebrandt
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wilske
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dorn
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Straube
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fingerle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000709:Anaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial