A total of 300 Ixodes ricinus ticks were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Sequence analysis demonstrated 8 (2.7%) ticks infected with B. lusitaniae, 60 (20%) with Rickettsia spp., and 1 (0.3%) with A. phagocytophilum. Seven (2.3%) ticks were coinfected with B. lusitaniae and Rickettsia spp., 2 (0.6%) wit...

Ticks constitute important vectors of human and animal pathogens. Besides the Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis, other pathogens such as Babesia spp., Rickettsia spp., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, are of increasing public health interest. In Poland, as in other European countries, Ixodes ricinus, the most prevalent tick species responsible for the majority of tick bites in humans, ...

Predators and competitors of vertebrates can in theory reduce the density of infected nymphs (DIN)-an often-used measure of tick-borne disease risk-by lowering the density of reservoir-competent hosts and/or the tick burden on reservoir-competent hosts. We investigated this possible indirect effect of predators by comparing data from 20 forest plots across the Netherlands that varied in predato...

Free-living animals are usually inhabited by a community of parasitic species that can interact with each other and alter both host susceptibility and parasite transmission. In this study we tested the prediction that an increase in the gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus would increase the infestation of the tick Ixodes ricinus, in free-living yellow-necked mice, Apodemus flavi...

A total of 684 Ixodes ricinus ticks (321 nymphs, 184 males, and 179 females) were collected by flagging lower vegetation in 6 forest districts located on the territory of Lublin province (eastern Poland). Ticks were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum DNA with two pairs of primers: EHR521/EHR747 for detecting 16S rRNA gene, and LA6/LA...

INTRODUCTION Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the spiral-shaped bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. We investigated the presence and prevalence of Borrelia species in ticks from the southern England. METHODS One hundred fifty-five cases (103 adult and 52 nymphal ticks) were collected from animal carcases. The midguts were removed, cultured in Barbour/Stoenner/Kelly II (BSK-II) and ...

A TaqMan PCR was established for identification and quantitation of members of the Ehrlichia phagocytophila group in experimentally infected cows and in Ixodes ricinus ticks. The TaqMan PCR identified a 106-bp section of the 16S rRNA gene by use of a specific fluorogenic probe and two primers. This technique was specific for members of the E. phagocytophila group, which include E. phagocytophil...

Blood coagulation starts immediately after damage to the vascular endothelium. This system is essential for minimizing blood loss from an injured blood vessel but also contributes to vascular thrombosis. Although it has long been thought that the intrinsic coagulation pathway is not important for clotting in vivo, recent data obtained with genetically altered mice indicate that contact phase pr...

In Europe, ixodid ticks are important arthropod vectors of human and animal pathogens, but comprehensive studies of the prevalence of all relevant pathogens in Central Europe are scarce. As a result of ecological changes, the incidences of tick-borne infections are expected to increase. In this study, 1,394 nymphal and adult Ixodes ricinus ticks sampled monthly during the active season from 33 ...

A survey was conducted to investigate the spatial distribution of Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus in Hungary and to compare these data with the results of a previous large-scale survey. In the survey conducted in the 1950s, D. reticulatus adults were detected in two isolated areas of two counties, and the presence of these ticks in the collection was explained by accidental introduct...