Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution
BackgroundBecause ixodid ticks are vectors of zoonotic pathogens, including Borrelia, information of their abundance, seasonal variation in questing behaviour and pathogen prevalence is important for human health. As ticks are invading new areas northwards, information from these new areas are neede...
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ftunivturku:oai:www.utupub.fi:10024/172356 2023-05-15T18:30:40+02:00 Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution Blomqvist D Sormunen JJ Kallio ER Pakanen VM Sippola E ekologia ja evoluutiobiologia, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology biodiversiteettiyksikkö, Biodiversity unit 2606010 2606402 2022-10-28T14:36:41Z https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/172356 en eng BMC United Kingdom Britannia GB 13 ARTN 384 10.1186/s13071-020-04259-z Parasites and Vectors 1 https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/172356 URN:NBN:fi-fe2021042827275 1756-3305 2022 ftunivturku 2022-11-03T00:02:54Z BackgroundBecause ixodid ticks are vectors of zoonotic pathogens, including Borrelia, information of their abundance, seasonal variation in questing behaviour and pathogen prevalence is important for human health. As ticks are invading new areas northwards, information from these new areas are needed. Taiga tick (Ixodes persulcatus) populations have been recently found at Bothnian Bay, Finland. We assessed seasonal variation in questing abundance of ticks and their pathogen prevalence in coastal deciduous forests near the city of Oulu (latitudes 64-65 degrees) in 2019.MethodsWe sampled ticks from May until September by cloth dragging 100 meters once a month at eight study sites. We calculated a density index (individuals/100 m(2)) to assess seasonal variation. Samples were screened for Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) (including B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto) and B. valaisana), Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis and Bartonella spp., Babesia spp. and for the tick-borne encephalitis virus.ResultsAll except one nymph were identified as I. persulcatus. The number of questing adults showed a strong peak in May (median: 6.5 adults/100 m(2)), which is among the highest values reported in northern Europe, and potentially indicates a large population size. After May, the number of questing adults declined steadily with few adults still sampled in August. Nymphs were present from May until September. We found a striking prevalence of Borrelia spp. in adults (62%) and nymphs (40%), with B. garinii (51%) and B. afzelii (63%) being the most common species. In addition, we found that 26% of infected adults were coinfected with at least two Borrelia genospecies, mainly B. garinii and B. afzelii, which are associated with different host species.ConclusionsThe coastal forest environments at Bothnian Bay seem to provide favourable environments for I. persulcatus and the spread of Borrelia. High tick abundance, a low diversity of ... Other/Unknown Material taiga University of Turku: UTUPub Strong Peak ENVELOPE(-82.300,-82.300,-79.933,-79.933) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Turku: UTUPub |
op_collection_id |
ftunivturku |
language |
English |
description |
BackgroundBecause ixodid ticks are vectors of zoonotic pathogens, including Borrelia, information of their abundance, seasonal variation in questing behaviour and pathogen prevalence is important for human health. As ticks are invading new areas northwards, information from these new areas are needed. Taiga tick (Ixodes persulcatus) populations have been recently found at Bothnian Bay, Finland. We assessed seasonal variation in questing abundance of ticks and their pathogen prevalence in coastal deciduous forests near the city of Oulu (latitudes 64-65 degrees) in 2019.MethodsWe sampled ticks from May until September by cloth dragging 100 meters once a month at eight study sites. We calculated a density index (individuals/100 m(2)) to assess seasonal variation. Samples were screened for Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) (including B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto) and B. valaisana), Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis and Bartonella spp., Babesia spp. and for the tick-borne encephalitis virus.ResultsAll except one nymph were identified as I. persulcatus. The number of questing adults showed a strong peak in May (median: 6.5 adults/100 m(2)), which is among the highest values reported in northern Europe, and potentially indicates a large population size. After May, the number of questing adults declined steadily with few adults still sampled in August. Nymphs were present from May until September. We found a striking prevalence of Borrelia spp. in adults (62%) and nymphs (40%), with B. garinii (51%) and B. afzelii (63%) being the most common species. In addition, we found that 26% of infected adults were coinfected with at least two Borrelia genospecies, mainly B. garinii and B. afzelii, which are associated with different host species.ConclusionsThe coastal forest environments at Bothnian Bay seem to provide favourable environments for I. persulcatus and the spread of Borrelia. High tick abundance, a low diversity of ... |
author2 |
ekologia ja evoluutiobiologia, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology biodiversiteettiyksikkö, Biodiversity unit 2606010 2606402 |
author |
Blomqvist D Sormunen JJ Kallio ER Pakanen VM Sippola E |
spellingShingle |
Blomqvist D Sormunen JJ Kallio ER Pakanen VM Sippola E Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution |
author_facet |
Blomqvist D Sormunen JJ Kallio ER Pakanen VM Sippola E |
author_sort |
Blomqvist D |
title |
Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution |
title_short |
Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution |
title_full |
Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution |
title_fullStr |
Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution |
title_full_unstemmed |
Questing abundance of adult taiga ticks Ixodes persulcatus and their Borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution |
title_sort |
questing abundance of adult taiga ticks ixodes persulcatus and their borrelia prevalence at the north-western part of their distribution |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/172356 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-82.300,-82.300,-79.933,-79.933) |
geographic |
Strong Peak |
geographic_facet |
Strong Peak |
genre |
taiga |
genre_facet |
taiga |
op_relation |
13 ARTN 384 10.1186/s13071-020-04259-z Parasites and Vectors 1 https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/172356 URN:NBN:fi-fe2021042827275 1756-3305 |
_version_ |
1766214232274108416 |