A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution (2020)

Pakanen, V.-M., Sormunen, J. J., Sippola, E., Blomqvist, D., & Kallio, E. R. (2020). Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution. Parasites and Vectors, 13, Article 384. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04259-z

JYU-tekijät tai -toimittajat

Kallio, Eva

Julkaisun tiedot

Julkaisun kaikki tekijät tai toimittajat: Pakanen, Veli-Matti; Sormunen, Jani J.; Sippola, Ella; Blomqvist, Donald; Kallio, Eva R.

Lehti tai sarja: Parasites and Vectors

eISSN: 1756-3305

Julkaisuvuosi: 2020

Ilmestymispäivä: 29.07.2020

Volyymi: 13

Artikkelinumero: 384

Kustantaja: BioMed Central

Julkaisumaa: Britannia

Julkaisun kieli: englanti

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04259-z

Julkaisun avoin saatavuus: Avoimesti saatavilla

Julkaisukanavan avoin saatavuus: Kokonaan avoin julkaisukanava

Julkaisu on rinnakkaistallennettu (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/74026

Tiivistelmä

Background
Because ixodid ticks are vectors of zoonotic pathogens, including Borrelia, information of their abundance, seasonal variation in questing behaviour and pathogen prevalence is important for human health. As ticks are invading new areas northwards, information from these new areas are needed. Taiga tick (Ixodes persulcatus) populations have been recently found at Bothnian Bay, Finland. We assessed seasonal variation in questing abundance of ticks and their pathogen prevalence in coastal deciduous forests near the city of Oulu (latitudes 64–65°) in 2019.

Methods
We sampled ticks from May until September by cloth dragging 100 meters once a month at eight study sites. We calculated a density index (individuals/100 m2) to assess seasonal variation. Samples were screened for Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) (including B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto) and B. valaisana), Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis and Bartonella spp., Babesia spp. and for the tick-borne encephalitis virus.

Results
All except one nymph were identified as I. persulcatus. The number of questing adults showed a strong peak in May (median: 6.5 adults/100 m2), which is among the highest values reported in northern Europe, and potentially indicates a large population size. After May, the number of questing adults declined steadily with few adults still sampled in August. Nymphs were present from May until September. We found a striking prevalence of Borrelia spp. in adults (62%) and nymphs (40%), with B. garinii (51%) and B. afzelii (63%) being the most common species. In addition, we found that 26% of infected adults were coinfected with at least two Borrelia genospecies, mainly B. garinii and B. afzelii, which are associated with different host species.

Conclusions
The coastal forest environments at Bothnian Bay seem to provide favourable environments for I. persulcatus and the spread of Borrelia. High tick abundance, a low diversity of the host community and similar host use among larvae and nymphs likely explain the high Borrelia prevalence and coinfection rate. Research on the infestation of the hosts that quantifies the temporal dynamics of immature life stages would reveal important aspects of pathogen circulation in these tick populations.

YSO-asiasanat: punkit; rannikkoalueet; metsät

Vapaat asiasanat: Finland; coastal forest; co-infection; ixodes persulcatus; temporal tick dynamics

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