title: Babesia spp. in ticks and wildlife in different habitat types of Slovakia.
abstract: Babesiosis is an emerging and potentially zoonotic disease caused by tick-borne piroplasmids of the Babesia genus. New genetic variants of piroplasmids with unknown associations to vectors and hosts are recognized. Data on the occurrence of Babesia spp. in ticks and wildlife widen the knowledge on the geographical distribution and circulation of piroplasmids in natural foci. Questing and rodent-attached ticks, rodents, and birds were screened for the presence of Babesia-specific DNA using molecular methods. Spatial and temporal differences of Babesia spp. prevalence in ticks and rodents from two contrasting habitats of Slovakia with sympatric occurrence of Ixodes ricinus and Haemaphysalis concinna ticks and co-infections of Candidatus N. mikurensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum were investigated.
  
  
  
  Babesia spp. were detected in 1.5 % and 6.6 % of questing I. ricinus and H. concinna, respectively. Prevalence of Babesia-infected I. ricinus was higher in a natural than an urban/suburban habitat. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Babesia spp. from I. ricinus clustered with Babesia microti, Babesia venatorum, Babesia canis, Babesia capreoli/Babesia divergens, and Babesia odocoilei. Babesia spp. amplified from H. concinna segregated into two monophyletic clades, designated Babesia sp. 1 (Eurasia) and Babesia sp. 2 (Eurasia), each of which represents a yet undescribed novel species. The prevalence of infection in rodents (with Apodemus flavicollis and Myodes glareolus prevailing) with B. microti was 1.3 % in an urban/suburban and 4.2 % in a natural habitat. The majority of infected rodents (81.3 %) were positive for spleen and blood and the remaining for lungs and/or skin. Rodent-attached I. ricinus (accounting for 96.3 %) and H. concinna were infected with B. microti, B. venatorum, B. capreoli/B. divergens, Babesia sp. 1 (Eurasia), and Babesia sp. 2 (Eurasia). All B. microti and B. venatorum isolates were identical to known zoonotic strains from Europe. Less than 1.0 % of Babesia-positive ticks and rodents carried Candidatus N. mikurensis or A. phagocytophilum.
  
  
  
  Our findings suggest that I. ricinus and rodents play important roles in the epidemiology of zoonotic Babesia spp. in south-western Slovakia. Associations with vertebrate hosts and the pathogenicity of Babesia spp. infecting H. concinna ticks need to be further explored.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 06, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hamšíková
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 06, Bratislava, Slovakia. maria.kazimirova@savba.sk.
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazimírová
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 3, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Danka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haruštiaková
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 06, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mahríková
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 06, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slovák
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 05, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berthová
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 05, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kocianová
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Patobiología, CICVyA, INTA-Castelar, 1686 Hurlingham, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|CONICET (National Research Council of Argentina), C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Leonhard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schnittger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000382:microbiology*; D001403:Babesia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001717:Birds / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012377:Rodentia / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D018154:Slovakia; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Babesia spp.; Birds; Haemaphysalis concinna; Ixodes ricinus; Piroplasmida; Rodents; Slovakia