Spotted fever rickettsiae in wild-living rodents from south-western Poland.

Background: Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacteria. They are transmitted via arthropod vectors, which transmit the bacteria between animals and occasionally to humans. So far, much research has been conducted to indicate reservoir hosts for these microorganisms, but our knowledge is still non-exhaustive.

Ticks and Borrelia in urban and peri-urban green space habitats in a city in southern England.

Ticks are becoming increasingly recognised as important vectors of pathogens in urban and peri-urban areas, including green space used for recreational activities. In the UK, the risk posed by ticks in such areas is largely unknown. In order to begin to assess the risk of ticks in urban/peri-urban areas in southern England, questing ticks were collected from five different habitat types (grassland, hedge, park, woodland and woodland edge) in a city during the spring, summer and autumn of 2013/2014 and screened for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.

Nested coevolutionary networks shape the ecological relationships of ticks, hosts, and the Lyme disease bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) complex.

Background: The bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) (BBG) complex constitute a group of tick-transmitted pathogens that are linked to many vertebrate and tick species.

Eco-epidemiology of Borrelia miyamotoi and Lyme borreliosis spirochetes in a popular hunting and recreational forest area in Hungary.

Background: Borrelia miyamotoi, the newly discovered human pathogenic relapsing fever spirochete, and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato are maintained in natural rodent populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the natural cycle of B. miyamotoi and B.

Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in natural rodent and tick communities in Southern Hungary.

The aim of this study was to investigate the natural cycle of the new human pathogenic bacteria Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Southern Hungary. We collected rodents with live-traps (2010-2013) and questing ticks with flagging in 2012. Small mammals were euthanized, tissue samples were collected and all the ectoparasites were removed and stored in 70% alcohol.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of emerging pathogens in questing Ixodes ricinus.

Ixodes ricinus transmits Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the etiological agent of Lyme disease. Previous studies have also detected Rickettsia helvetica, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, and several Babesia species in questing ticks in The Netherlands. In this study, we assessed the acarological risk of exposure to several tick-borne pathogens (TBPs), in The Netherlands.

Geodemographic analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato using the 5S-23S rDNA spacer region.

Background: Lyme borreliosis is the predominant tick-borne disease in the Northern hemisphere, with considerable heterogeneity in clinical manifestations. Here, we evaluated one genetic marker for its use in population genetic based analysis. For that we collected molecular and epidemiological records of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates from ticks, animals and humans at various sites in The Netherlands and worldwide.

Ixodes ricinus ticks (Acari: Ixodidae): vectors for Lyme disease spirochetes in Romania.

In this study 1,868 questing Ixodes ricinus ticks (nymphs and adults), collected in six sites from three counties--Giurgiu, Sibiu, and Tulcea--in Romania, were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by reverse line blot (RLB) for detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato presence. The bacteria were found in 18% of the investigated ticks. The prevalence of infection did not differ significantly between nymphs (19.

First report of lyme disease spirochetes in ticks from Romania (Sibiu County).

We examined 200 questing Ixodes ricinus ticks (nymphs and adults) collected in three different sites in Sibiu County, Romania by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by reverse line blot (RLB) for Borrelia burgdorferi s.l..