[The infection of ixodid ticks collected from humans with the tick-borne encephalitis virus in Tomsk city and its suburbs].

The ticks Ixodes persulcatus and I. pavlovskyi collected from people visited gardens and suburban forests have been examined by the IFA methods on the presence of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TEV). It was established, that the most part of ticks collected from humans belongs to I. persulcatus, despite the fact that I. pavlovskyi dominates on the territory of the city and its suburbs. TEV infection was registered more often in fed ticks, in comparison with those without signs of preceding feeding. Infected specimens constituted 9.4% of 53 I. persulcatus individuals examined. In I. pavlovskyi 3.7% of 27 examined specimens were infected. In fed ticks (41 specimens of I. persulcatus and 20 I. pavlovskvi) the rates of infected specimens were higher and constituted 48.8 and 35%, respectively. In suburban forests, as well as in the city, I. persulcatus was found to attack humans more often than I. pavlovskyi. TEV infection was recorded in 12.7% of 220 unfed I. persulcatus specimens examined and in 41.6% of 142 fed individuals. In I. pavlovskyi, 6.6% of unfed and 25% of fed specimens was infected (33 unfed and 24 fed specimens were examined). Thus, in all territories examined, percent of infected specimens was significantly lower in I. pavlovskyi, and in fed ticks of both species, TEV was recorded more often.