Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks in urban and suburban areas of Switzerland.

Background: Throughout Europe, Ixodes ricinus transmits numerous pathogens. Its widespread distribution is not limited to rural but also includes urbanized areas. To date, comprehensive data on pathogen carrier rates of I.

Goats as sentinel hosts for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis risk areas in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland.

Background: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an important tick-borne disease in Europe. Detection of the TBE virus (TBEV) in local populations of Ixodes ricinus ticks is the most reliable proof that a given area is at risk for TBE, but this approach is time-consuming and expensive. A cheaper and simpler approach is to use immunology-based methods to screen vertebrate hosts for TBEV-specific antibodies and subsequently test the tick populations at locations with seropositive animals.

Evaluation of a new serological test for the detection of anti-Coxiella and anti-Rickettsia antibodies.

Coxiella burnetii and members of the genus Rickettsia are obligate intracellular bacteria. Since cultivation of these organisms requires dedicated techniques, their diagnosis usually relies on serological or molecular biology methods. Immunofluorescence is considered the gold standard to detect antibody-reactivity towards these organisms.

Exposure to low doses of Coxiella burnetii caused high illness attack rates: Insights from combining human challenge and outbreak data.

Background: As a major zoonotic pathogen, characterization of the infectivity and pathogenicity of Coxiella burnetii is essential to understand Q-fever epidemiology.

Objectives: We want to extend a recently published human dose response model based on experimental challenge of young adult males to include other age groups and both genders. Additionally, we can estimate the spatial distribution of exposure based on observed outbreak data.

Prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in field-collected ticks (Ixodes ricinus) in southern Switzerland.

Background: Tick-borne encephalitis is the most common tick-borne viral infection in Europe with 3,000 human cases reported each year. In Western Europe, the castor bean tick, Ixodes ricinus, is the principal vector of the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). TBEV appears to be spreading geographically and was recently detected for the first time in Canton Valais in the southern part of Switzerland.

Presence of Chlamydiales DNA in ticks and fleas suggests that ticks are carriers of Chlamydiae.

The Chlamydiales order includes the Chlamydiaceae, Parachlamydiaceae, Waddliaceae, Simkaniaceae, Criblamydiaceae, Rhabdochlamydiaceae, Clavichlamydiaceae, and Piscichlamydiaceae families. Members of the Chlamydiales order are obligate intracellular bacteria that replicate within eukaryotic cells of different origins including humans, animals, and amoebae. Many of these bacteria are pathogens or emerging pathogens of both humans and animals, but their true diversity is largely underestimated, and their ecology remains to be investigated.

Assessment of the frequency of different Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species in patients with Lyme borreliosis from north-east Poland by studying preferential serologic response and DNA isolates.

Introduction And Objective: Several Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species cause Lyme borreliosis throughout Europe and their geographic distribution may influence clinical manifestations of the disease. In Poland, Lyme borreliosis presents mainly with neurologic and cutaneous symptoms, while clinically overt arthritis is rare. The presented study investigates the prevalence of B.

Tick related diseases in Switzerland, 2008 to 2011.

Question Under Study: To determine the incidence and determinants of tick related diseases in Switzerland, for example tick bites and Lyme borreliosis in primary care and tick borne encephalitis.

Methods: Analysis of the Swiss data collected by mandatory and facultative surveillance systems for the reporting period of 2008 to 2011.

Results: Tick related diseases in Switzerland are common.

Real-time PCR for type-specific identification of herpes simplex in clinical samples: evaluation of type-specific results in the context of CNS diseases.

Background: HSV-1 and HSV-2 cause CNS infections of dissimilar clinico-pathological characteristics with prognostic and therapeutic implications.

Objectives: To validate a type-specific real-time PCR that uses MGB/LNA Taqman probes and to review the virologico-clinical data of 25 eligible patients with non-neonatal CNS infections.

Results: This real-time PCR was evaluated against conventional PCR (26 CSF and 20 quality controls), and LightCycler assay (51 mucocutaneous, 8 CSF and 32 quality controls) and culture/immunofluorescence (75 mucocutaneous) to assess typing with independent methods.

[Lyme borreliosis: from the erythema migrans to Lyme arthritis].

An outbreak of arthritis (Lyme arthritis) initiated the research leading to the description of the Lyme disease in the years 1977-78 as a multisystemic tick-borne disease. Five years later the spirochete responsible for Lyme disease is discovered and will be named Borrelia burgdorferi, in honor to its discoverer, Dr Willy Burgdorfer. Presently in Europe, 6 Borrelia species have been described and current knowledge on epidemiology is reported here.

OspA heterogeneity of Borrelia valaisiana confirmed by phenotypic and genotypic analyses.

Background: Although European Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates have been divided into five genospecies, specific tools for the serotype characterization of only three genospecies are available. Monoclonals antibodies (mAbs) H3TS, D6 and I17.3 identify B.

Rhipicephalus ticks infected with Rickettsia and Coxiella in Southern Switzerland (Canton Ticino).

Ticks of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus species complex may be vector of various pathogens including Rickettsia conorii (the etiological agent of the Mediterranean spotted fever) and Coxiella burnetii (cause of the Query (Q) fever). R. sanguineus ticks have been imported in several parts of central and northern Europe, especially in environments such as kennels and houses providing the appropriate microclimatic conditions and the blood source necessary for their survival.

African tick bite fever: not a spotless rickettsiosis!

African tick bite fever is caused by Rickettsia africae, a newly recognized species from South Africa. We report the case of a patient with an unusual site of a tick bite and discuss cutaneous differences from other spotted fevers that may help dermatologists with clinical diagnosis.

Interpretation of immunoblots for Lyme borreliosis using a semiquantitative approach.

OBJECTIVE: To test the performances of new Borrelia garinii immunoblots specific for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato with a selected panel of sera from patients with various clinical presentations of Lyme borreliosis. METHODS: In order to establish the sensitivity and the specificity of these immunoblots, we tested serum samples obtained from patients with early- and late-stage Lyme disease (erythema migrans n=35, neuroborreliosis n=61, acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) n=27 and arthritis n=41), from patients with diagnoses and laboratory findings associated with serologic cross-reactivity to Lyme disease (syphilis n=12, Epstein-Barr infection n=9, autoimmune markers n=29) and from blood donors residing in regions of low and medium endemicity (n=80, n=100). RESULTS: The combined sensitivity (IgG and IgM) of the tests was 90% for patients with erythema migrans, 92% for neuroborreliosis, 96% for ACA and 100% for Lyme arthritis.

Association of distinct species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato with neuroborreliosis in Switzerland.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate by species-specific immunoblots the association of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii and B. afzelii with neuroborreliosis in Switzerland.