Babesia species in questing Ixodes ricinus, Sweden.
Babesiosis is an emerging tick-transmitted zoonosis in large parts of the world. In Sweden, the occurrence and diversity of Babesia species is largely unknown. In order to estimate the exposure to Babesia from infected ticks, we collected questing Ixodes ricinus from several sites across southern Sweden during two consecutive field seasons and investigated the occurrence of Babesia species. We report for the first time the occurrence of the zoonotic species Babesia venatorum in Swedish ticks, with a prevalence of 1%. We also detected B. microti (prevalence 3.2%) and B. divergens (prevalence 0.2%). The incidence of Babesia in questing ticks is substantially lower than that of several other tick-borne diseases in Sweden. Nevertheless, babesiosis should not be neglected as a possible diagnosis following tick bites in humans and animals in Sweden.
Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU, SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden.
Maria E
ME
Karlsson
Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Ecology Building, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: martin1andersson@gmail.com.
Martin O
MO
Andersson
D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D018884:Ixodes / Q000469:parasitology*; D007814:Larva / Q000469:parasitology; D009758:Nymph / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013548:Sweden
D016054:DNA, Protozoan
B. divergens; B. microti; B. venatorum; Babesia spp.; Tick-borne disease; Zoonotic disease