Species, developmental stage and infection with microbial pathogens of engorged ticks removed from dogs and questing ticks.

Research into tick-borne diseases implies vector sampling and the detection and identification of microbial pathogens. Ticks were collected simultaneously from dogs that had been exposed to tick bites and by flagging the ground in the area in which the dogs had been exposed. In total, 200 ticks were sampled, of which 104 came from dogs and 96 were collected by flagging.

Humoral immune response in dogs naturally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and in dogs after immunization with a Borrelia vaccine.

Lyme arthritis in dogs can be induced under experimental and natural conditions. However, the veterinary relevance of canine borreliosis is still under extensive investigation. The prevalence of symptoms is clearly low, although the risk of tick exposure is high.

Impact of a pertussis booster vaccination program in adolescents and adults on the epidemiology of pertussis in Austria.

Background: A resurgence of pertussis has been observed in several countries; however, inconsistent data are available for Europe. In Austria, routine pertussis vaccination for babies is administered at 3, 4, and 5 months, and in the second year of life. Since 2002, regular boosters for all persons >6 years of age (including adults) are recommended.

Seasonal variations in detecting Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in rodents from north eastern Austria.

Austria is well known as an endemic area of Lyme borreliosis. To assess the annual variation of rodent populations that may host agents of Lyme borreliosis we collected rodents in northeastern Austria. Life traps were set out every six weeks during a year consecutively in one each of the three different zones (Hohenau, Ernstbrunn, Vienna Woods) that cover the main habitat characteristics of small mammals in northeastern Austria.

Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in serum specimens from patients with mycoplasma pneumonia by PCR.

There are few data on detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae from blood, serum or plasma, and systematic studies on this diagnostic approach in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are scarce. Compared to testing respiratory specimens, this approach has the advantages that it is less dependent on proper specimen collection, serum is easily stored and handled, and the pathogen is detected in a primary sterile site, where colonization can be ruled out. In this study, acute-phase serum specimens from 29 patients of Vienna University Hospital (treated between 11/1994 and 6/2004; female: 14, male: 15; median age: 31 years, range: 15-66 years) with CAP and serologically verified M.