title: Spatiotemporal dynamics of emerging pathogens in questing Ixodes ricinus.
abstract: Ixodes ricinus transmits Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the etiological agent of Lyme disease. Previous studies have also detected Rickettsia helvetica, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, and several Babesia species in questing ticks in The Netherlands. In this study, we assessed the acarological risk of exposure to several tick-borne pathogens (TBPs), in The Netherlands. Questing ticks were collected monthly between 2006 and 2010 at 21 sites and between 2000 and 2009 at one other site. Nymphs and adults were analysed individually for the presence of TBPs using an array-approach. Collated data of this and previous studies were used to generate, for each pathogen, a presence/absence map and to further analyse their spatiotemporal variation. R. helvetica (31.1%) and B. burgdorferi sensu lato (11.8%) had the highest overall prevalence and were detected in all areas. N. mikurensis (5.6%), A. phagocytophilum (0.8%), and Babesia spp. (1.7%) were detected in most, but not all areas. The prevalences of pathogens varied among the study areas from 0 to 64%, while the density of questing ticks varied from 1 to 179/100 m². Overall, 37% of the ticks were infected with at least one pathogen and 6.3% with more than one pathogen. One-third of the Borrelia-positive ticks were infected with at least one other pathogen. Coinfection of B. afzelii with N. mikurensis and with Babesia spp. occurred significantly more often than single infections, indicating the existence of mutual reservoir hosts. Alternatively, coinfection of R. helvetica with either B. afzelii or N. mikurensis occurred significantly less frequent. The diversity of TBPs detected in I. ricinus in this study and the frequency of their coinfections with B. burgdorferi s.l., underline the need to consider them when evaluating the risks of infection and subsequently the risk of disease following a tick bite.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and Environment-RIVM, Bilthoven, Netherlands. claudia.coipan@rivm.nl
authors.forename: Elena Claudia
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Coipan
authors.forename: Setareh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jahfari
authors.forename: Manoj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fonville
authors.forename: Catharina B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Maassen
authors.forename: Joke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Giessen
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Takken
authors.forename: Katsuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takumi
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sprong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D044822:Biodiversity; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D009426:Netherlands; D058974:Phylogeography
keywords: Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Babesia; Borrelia burgdorferi; Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis; Ixodes ricinus; Rickettsia conorii; Rickettsia helvetica; vector-borne disease
references.citation: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2010 Nov;10(9):831-7
references.pmid: 20420533
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2003 May;69(5):2825-30
references.pmid: 12732554
references.citation: Parasit Vectors. 2011 Feb 10;4:17
references.pmid: 21310036
references.citation: Int J Parasitol. 2000 Nov;30(12-13):1323-37
references.pmid: 11113258
references.citation: Int J Med Microbiol. 2009 Feb;299(2):155-60
references.pmid: 18722157
references.citation: Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2003 Sep;22(9):535-42
references.pmid: 12938010
references.citation: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011 May;11(5):523-32
references.pmid: 21083369
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1990 Oct 5;215(3):403-10
references.pmid: 2231712
references.citation: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2002 Winter;2(4):265-73
references.pmid: 12804168
references.citation: Parasit Vectors. 2011 Apr 18;4:61
references.pmid: 21501464
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 1999 Apr 15;340(15):1214-6
references.pmid: 10206853
references.citation: Exp Appl Acarol. 2008 Dec;46(1-4):29-41
references.pmid: 18648996
references.citation: Euro Surveill. 2006 Jun 22;11(6):E060622.2
references.pmid: 16819128
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012 Jul;78(13):4606-12
references.pmid: 22522688
references.citation: Infect Immun. 2001 May;69(5):3359-71
references.pmid: 11292759
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2009 Aug;75(16):5410-6
references.pmid: 19542332
references.citation: Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Sep;17(9):1716-8
references.pmid: 21888802
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 1997 Mar 15;145(6):558-66
references.pmid: 9063347
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1997 Dec;57(6):687-92
references.pmid: 9430528
references.citation: Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Sep;10(9):1692-3
references.pmid: 15503409
references.citation: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011 Jul;11(7):939-44
references.pmid: 21417929
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 2004 Mar;42(3):1316-8
references.pmid: 15004107
references.citation: Infect Genet Evol. 2013 Jul;17:216-22
references.pmid: 23602839
references.citation: Infect Immun. 2005 Jun;73(6):3440-4
references.pmid: 15908372
references.citation: Emerg Infect Dis. 1999 Nov-Dec;5(6):811-4
references.pmid: 10603217
references.citation: J Med Entomol. 1996 Sep;33(5):711-20
references.pmid: 8840676
references.citation: Infect Genet Evol. 2011 Oct;11(7):1545-63
references.pmid: 21843658
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2001 Jul 29;356(1411):1045-56
references.pmid: 11516382
references.citation: Exp Appl Acarol. 2007;41(1-2):147-52
references.pmid: 17342346
references.citation: Clin Infect Dis. 2001 Mar 15;32(6):897-928
references.pmid: 11247714
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Nov;71(11):7203-16
references.pmid: 16269760
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1994 Nov;51(5):538-44
references.pmid: 7985745
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Dec;72(12):7594-601
references.pmid: 17028227
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 1999 Jul;37(7):2215-22
references.pmid: 10364588
references.citation: Int J Med Microbiol. 2004 Apr;293 Suppl 37:86-92
references.pmid: 15146989
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 1999 Sep;37(9):3025-8
references.pmid: 10449497
references.citation: Parasit Vectors. 2012 Apr 19;5:74
references.pmid: 22515314
references.citation: Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2010 Jan;8(1):33-50
references.pmid: 20014900
references.citation: Parasit Vectors. 2010 May 14;3:42
references.pmid: 20470386
references.citation: Clin Lab Med. 2010 Mar;30(1):261-92
references.pmid: 20513551
references.citation: Parasit Vectors. 2009 Sep 04;2(1):41
references.pmid: 19732416
references.citation: Clin Rheumatol. 2008 Dec;27(12):1587-91
references.pmid: 18795392
references.citation: Parasit Vectors. 2010 Aug 04;3:66
references.pmid: 20684755
references.citation: Emerg Infect Dis. 2007 Aug;13(8):1208-10
references.pmid: 17953093
references.citation: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2009 Feb;9(1):119-22
references.pmid: 18759637
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 1995 Jul;85(7):944-8
references.pmid: 7604918
references.citation: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2009 Feb;9(1):93-102
references.pmid: 18789001
references.citation: Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2005 Winter;5(4):390-401
references.pmid: 16417435
references.citation: Lancet. 2012 Feb 4;379(9814):461-73
references.pmid: 21903253
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2012 Jun 21;366(25):2397-407
references.pmid: 22716978
references.citation: Parasitology. 2003 Jan;126(Pt 1):11-20
references.pmid: 12613759
references.citation: Clin Microbiol Rev. 2006 Oct;19(4):708-27
references.pmid: 17041141
references.citation: Dan Med Bull. 2011 Feb;58(2):B4249
references.pmid: 21299929
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010 May;76(9):2923-31
references.pmid: 20228110
references.citation: J Parasitol. 2005 Apr;91(2):463-5
references.pmid: 15986627
references.citation: Euro Surveill. 2006 Jun 22;11(6):E060622.1
references.pmid: 16819127
references.citation: Yale J Biol Med. 1984 Jul-Aug;57(4):573-80
references.pmid: 6393609
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 2002 Apr;40(4):1259-63
references.pmid: 11923342
references.citation: Wien Klin Wochenschr. 1998 Dec 23;110(24):894-7
references.pmid: 10048172