title: Etiological [corrected] agents of rickettsiosis and anaplasmosis in ticks collected in Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) during 2008 and 2009.
abstract: Ticks are the main vectors of rickettsiae of the spotted fever group, as well as of a variety of other Rickettsiales, including bacteria of the genus Anaplasma, that might cause diseases in humans and animals. Here we present the result of a survey for ticks and for tick-associated Rickettsiales in the Emilia Romagna region (Northern Italy). The study was focused on ticks collected from wild-hunted animals. Out of 392 ticks collected from these animals, 282 (72%) were identified as Ixodes ricinus, 110 (28%) as Dermacentor marginatus. The former was found on four vertebrate species, whereas the latter appeared more specific for wild boar. The presence of rickettsiae was demonstrated in 22.5% of I. ricinus (57/253) and in 29% of D. marginatus (32/110). Five ticks of the species I. ricinus were also positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum (2%). In addition, we collected ticks by dragging in a natural park of the same region. All of the ticks captured by dragging were identified as I. ricinus. Thirty-six out of 200 analyzed ticks proved positive for Rickettsia monacensis and R. helvetica (16.5 and 1.5%, respectively). Our results highlight that that ticks present in wild areas, widely exploited for recreation and hunting in Emilia-Romagna, represent a risk for the transmission of spotted fevers and anaplasmosis to humans.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna, Sezione di Reggio Emilia, via Pitagora n. 2, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy. giulia.maioli@izsler.it
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maioli
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pistone
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bonilauri
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pajoro
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mulatto
authors.forename: Mulatto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patrizia
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vicari
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dottori
mesh_terms: D020561:Alphaproteobacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000709:Anaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D003870:Dermacentor / Q000382:microbiology*; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D034421:Sus scrofa