Borrelia burgdorferi was found widespread in ixodid ticks from the Basque Country (Spain) during a two-step study. In the first part, a total of 7,835 ixodids of eight different species was collected from vegetation, classified, and processed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of B. burgdorferi ospA DNA. B. burgdorferi DNA wasdetectedin < or = 12.5% of adults and > or = 0.6% of...

Bartonella are hemoparasites exploiting a range of mammals as reservoir hosts. Several species are zoonotic pathogens. Fleas, lice, and other arthropods, such as ticks, have been implicated as vectors. While the competence of ticks as vectors of Bartonella species has recently been demonstrated, the epidemiological significance of ticks as vectors of Bartonella species in wildlife populations r...

In Europe, Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies causing Lyme borreliosis are mainly transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus. Since its discovery, B. burgdorferi has been the subject of many epidemiological studies to determine its prevalence and the distribution of the different genospecies in ticks. In the current study we systematically reviewed the literature on epidemiological studies of I. rici...

Dining opportunities are rare for ticks. The notorious pests spend as much as 90% of their lives clambering around in leaf litter and only embark on epic expeditions to the tips of grass and leaves when they need to feed. Wrapping their limbs around slender smooth stalks of grass when they ascend, ticks must also grasp any passing opportunity to latch onto smooth skin or the hairy pelts of anim...

Bartonella spp. are facultative intracellular bacteria associated with several emerging diseases in humans and animals. B. henselae causes cat-scratch disease and is increasingly associated with several other syndromes, particularly ocular infections and endocarditis. Cats are the main reservoir for B. henselae and the bacteria are transmitted to cats by cat fleas. However, new potential vector...

Two topically applied spot-on products--65% permethrin (Defend Exspot Treatment for Dogs, Schering-Plough Animal Health, Union, NJ) and 9.7% fipronil (Frontline Spot On Dog, Merial Limited, Iselin, NJ)--used for canine flea and tick control were evaluated for repellency against Ixodes ricinus, the tick species that is the primary vector of Lyme disease in Europe. Eighteen dogs were randomly ass...

Understanding epidemiology of the tick-borne pathogens requires the accurate identification of the vector ticks. Morphological analysis of ticks is difficult and often leads to misidentification. Molecular techniques offer an alternative approach of tick identification. To date, no practical and reliable molecular assays for discrimination of Euro-Asian ticks are available. Our aim was to devel...

A 37-year-old man living in eastern France seroconverted to Rickettsia helvetica in August 1997, 4 weeks after the onset of an unexplained febrile illness. Results of a serosurvey of forest workers from the area where the patient lived showed a 9.2% seroprevalence against R. helvetica. This organism may pose a threat for populations exposed to Ixodes ricinus ticks.

The vector competence of 2 tick species, Ixodes ricinus (L.) and Ixodes scapularis Say, was determined and compared for 3 genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi. The 3 genospecies of B. burgdorferi used in the following experiments were Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (B-31 and B-31.D1 clone), Borrelia afzelii (strain Pgau. C3), and Borrelia garinii (strain VS286 and VSBP). Spirochetes from all...

INTRODUCTION Ixodes ricinus tick is of great medical and veterinary importance and has a wide range of geographical distribution. The study presents the effect of permethrin (Per) and cypermethrin (CM) on engorged I. ricinus females. MATERIALS AND METHOD The effect of perythroids studied on engorged I. ricinus females was assessed on the basis of the pre-oviposition and oviposition period. Re...