title: Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in an urban park in Rome, Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Limited information is available about the presence of tick-borne pathogens in urban parks in Italy. To fill this gap, ticks were collected in a public park in Rome over a 1-year period and screened by molecular methods for tick-borne pathogens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most abundant tick species were Rhipicephalus turanicus and Ixodes ricinus. The predominant pathogens detected were Borrelia. burgdorferi sensu lato (36%), Rickettsia spp. (36%), and Coxiella burnetii (22%). Among less frequently detected pathogens, Babesia microti was detected for the first time in Italy, with a prevalence of 4%. Neither Bartonella spp. nor Francisella tularensis were detected. With regard to co-infections, the most frequent double and triple infections involved Rickettsia spp., B. burgdorferi sl., and C. burnetii.. A positive correlation was detected between pathogens and I. ricinus. Further studies are needed in order to assess risk associated with tick-borne pathogens in urban areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabiola
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Luca
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Toma
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fenicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vescio
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Khoury
authors.affiliation: Regional Park of Bracciano and Martignano, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marini
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rezza
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciervo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D041001:Babesia microti / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012384:Rome