title: Kampinos National Park: a risk area for spotted fever group rickettsioses, central Poland?
abstract: Ixodid ticks are important vectors of a variety of bacterial and protozoan pathogens which cause infections in humans. In this study, altogether 1041 questing Ixodes ricinus (n = 305) and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks (n = 736), sympatrically occurring in Kampinos National Park (KPN), central-east Poland, were analyzed by PCR for Rickettsia species. Overall, the pathogen prevalence in ticks was 27.5 % for I. ricinus and 42.8 % for D. reticulatus. Sequencing analysis showed that the first tick species was exclusively infected with R. helvetica, whereas the latter was infected with R. raoultii. These organism may pose a threat for populations exposed to ticks. Preliminary results of a serosurvey of 74 KPN employees, inhabitants and visitors from the same area showed a 31.1 % total seroprevalence against SFG rickettsiae compared to 13.3 % seropositive blood donors of the control group. Risk factors significantly associated with IgG seropositivity were: occupational exposure to ticks (p = 0.002), frequency of tick bites (p = 0.02) and male gender (p = 0.005). Seropositive and seronegative individuals occupationally exposed to ticks did not differ significantly with respect to age and years of employment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Parasitology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Powstania Styczniowego 9B Str., 81-519, Gdynia, Poland. astan@gumed.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stańczak
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Parasitology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Powstania Styczniowego 9B Str., 81-519, Gdynia, Poland.
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Biernat
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Parasitology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Powstania Styczniowego 9B Str., 81-519, Gdynia, Poland.|Chair and Clinic of Internal Medicine, Connective Tissue Diseases and Geriatrics, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 7 Str., 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matyjasek
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Parasitology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Powstania Styczniowego 9B Str., 81-519, Gdynia, Poland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Racewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Hazards Prevention and Allergology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a Str., 02-091, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zalewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Parasitology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Powstania Styczniowego 9B Str., 81-519, Gdynia, Poland.
authors.forename: Daria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lewandowska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D003870:Dermacentor / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009758:Nymph / Q000382:microbiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D000068316:Parks, Recreational; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dermacentor reticulatus; Ixodes ricinus; Kampinos National Park; Poland; Rickettsia helvetica; Rickettsia raoultii; Seroprevalence; Spotted fever group rickettsiae