title: Borrelia lusitaniae and spotted fever group rickettsiae in Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) in Tuscany, central Italy.
abstract: Prevalence of infection by Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae was estimated in host-seeking ticks in an area in Tuscany, central Italy, where Lyme borreliosis was reported in a forestry worker. B. burgdorferi s.l. was identified by polymerase chain reaction in 16.7% (95% CI = 10.3, 24.8) of Ixodes ricinus (L.) nymphs and 39.6% (95% CI = 26.5, 54.0) of adults. Borrelia lusitaniae accounted for 82.9% of positive samples, followed by Borrelia garinii (9.8%), Borrelia afzelii (2.4%), and Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. (2.4%). One Rhipicephalus spp. adult was infected with B. garinii (prevalence = 8.3%; 95% CI = 0.21, 38.5). Prevalence of infection by SFG rickettsiae was 38.5% (95% CI = 26.7, 51.4) in I. ricinus nymphs, 34.6% (95% CI = 22.0, 49.1) in I. ricinus adults, and 50% (95% CI = 21.1, 78.9) in Rhipicephalus spp. adults. Phylogenetic analysis showed the similarity of B. lusitaniae strains that were identified in this study and of a strain that was previously isolated from a human patient in Portugal. Results of this study confirm the dominance of B. lusitaniae in areas in the Mediterranean basin and the infection by SFG rickettsiae in I. ricinus.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Epidemiologia ed Ecologia, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Leonardo da Vinci, 44, 10095 Grugliasco TO, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bertolotti
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tomassone
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tramuta
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grego
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Amore
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ambrogi
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nebbia
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mannelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001898:Borrelia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D005970:Glutamate Synthase / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D009758:Nymph / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C078167:OMPA outer membrane proteins; C107166:glutamate synthase A; D005970:Glutamate Synthase