Publications by authors named "Dana Zubrikova"
Article Synopsis
- Ticks are ectoparasites that can transmit harmful pathogens to humans and animals, and this study focused on how altitude and soil pH affect the presence of these pathogens in tick populations in Slovakia.* -
- The research found that higher altitudes generally increased the likelihood of certain pathogens in ticks, while soil pH also played a role in pathogen occurrence for specific microorganisms, but various factors influence this relationship beyond just altitude and soil pH.* -
- Although the study's regression models provided insights into factors affecting pathogen presence in ticks, they explained only a small amount of the variability, suggesting that other unknown influences are at play.*
Article Synopsis
- - Ticks transmit various pathogens, increasing the need for effective control measures like acaricides and environmentally friendly practices, such as habitat modification and biological control.
- - Researchers detected tick-specific parasitoid wasps in several tick species using genetic methods in the Slovak Karst National Park, marking the first molecular identification of these wasps in specific tick species in that region.
- - The study found that certain tick species not only hosted wasps but also highlighted that these wasps can target multiple tick species, including those less harmful to human and animal health.
Article Synopsis
- A study conducted in Slovakia aimed to monitor the presence and spread of West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) through mosquito populations, addressing the lack of formal surveillance in the region.
- Over two years, researchers trapped and analyzed 4,508 mosquitoes, finding WNV in 3 pools and USUV in 16 pools; USUV was more widespread and lasted longer in seasonal detection.
- The study highlighted a significant finding of WNV in urban Bratislava, alongside a confirmed human infection, emphasizing the need for better surveillance to mitigate public health risks from these viruses.
Ticks will diminish productivity among farm animals and transmit zoonotic diseases. We conducted a study to identify tick species infesting slaughter bulls from Adama City and to screen them for tick-borne pathogens. In 2016, 291 ticks were collected from 37 bulls in Adama, which were ready for slaughter.
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- The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of various tick-borne pathogens in ixodid ticks collected from five regions in Ukraine, addressing the data gap on this issue compared to Western Europe.
- A total of 524 ticks were collected, identified as three species, and analyzed for pathogens using PCR, revealing varying prevalence rates of different pathogens among ticks.
- This research is significant as it provides the first prevalence data for certain pathogens in three Ukrainian regions and the first detection of Neoehrlichia mikurensis in ixodid ticks there.
In Slovakia, little knowledge is available on the occurrence, hosts and vectors of Borrelia miyamotoi of the relapsing fever group. In the current study, 2160 questing and rodent-attached ticks of six species (Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes trianguliceps, Dermacentor marginatus, Dermacentor reticulatus, Haemaphysalis concinna and Haemaphysalis inermis), 279 fleas belonging to 9 species (Ctenophthalmus agyrtes, Ctenophthalmus solutus, Ctenophthalmus assimilis, Megabothris turbidus, Amalareus penicilliger, Hystrichopsylla orientalis, Ctenophthalmus uncinatus, Doratopsylla dasycnema and Nosopsyllus fasciatus) and skin biopsies from 245 small mammals belonging to eight species (Apodemus agrarius, Apodemus flavicollis, Apodemus uralensis, Myodes glareolus, Crocidura leucodon, Micromys minutus, Microtus arvalis, Microtus subterraneus) were screened for the presence of B. miyamotoi DNA.
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- Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are prevalent tick-borne diseases in Germany, with ticks collected from both high-risk and low-risk areas in Lower Bavaria and Upper Palatinate.
- A study involving 8805 Ixodes ricinus ticks revealed a TBEV prevalence of 0.26%, with infections found in seven high-risk sites, and a significant number (12.7%) were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.).
- Seven genospecies of Borrelia were identified, including B. afzelii and B. garinii, with mixed infections occurring in 13.6% of ticks; TBEV was exclusively
Article Synopsis
- Monitoring West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) is now a top priority in the European Union due to their potential impact.
- The study reports the first detection of WNV lineage-2 (0.46% prevalence) and USUV clade Europe 2 (0.25% prevalence) co-existing in mosquitoes in southwestern Slovakia.
- The findings emphasize the need for comprehensive monitoring of these viruses in birds, mosquitoes, horses, and humans in the region.
Research projects in the field of eco-epidemiology of tick-borne diseases often require extensive sampling of arthropod vectors in the field. The aim of our study was to use geographical information systems (GIS) to select appropriate sampling sites of Ixodes ricinus ticks in central European habitat for further ecological studies of vector-borne pathogens (tick-borne encephalitis virus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato). The model area was the Czech-German borderland (the region of South Bohemia and two regions in Germany: the Upper Palatinate and Lower Bavaria) where numerous human tick-borne encephalitis cases are reported annually.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Europe, Lyme borreliosis (LB) and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are the two vector-borne diseases with the largest impact on human health. Based on data on the density of host-seeking ticks and pathogen prevalence and using a variety of environmental data, we have created an acarological risk model for a region where both diseases are endemic (Czech Republic-South Bohemia and Germany-Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate). The data on tick density were acquired by flagging 50 sampling sites three times in a single season.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to obtain a better understanding of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) strain movements in central Europe the E gene sequences of 102 TBEV strains collected from 1953 to 2011 at 38 sites in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Germany were determined. Bayesian analysis suggests a 350-year history of evolution and spread in central Europe of two main lineages, A and B. In contrast to the east to west spread at the Eurasian continent level, local central European spreading patterns suggest historic west to east spread followed by more recent east to west spread.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. in Ixodes ricinus ticks from four localities in Bavaria, Germany.
Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr
October 2013
As a part of a larger survey a total of 599 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from four locations (Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Amberg, Poppenricht and Lintach) in the north of the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria were investigated for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.) species using the 5S-23S intergenic spacer of rRNA gene as a target in a nested PCR (Rijpkema et al.
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