Adult Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks collected near Ljubljana, Slovenia, were tested for the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) by using PCR assays based on the 16S rRNA gene. Three (3.2%) of 93 ticks were found to contain granulocytic ehrlichiae. Nucleotide sequences of portions of the bacterial groESL heat shock operon amplified from these ticks were identical or nearly (9...

Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and tick-borne diseases are considered as a threat in several parts of Europe. In Finland, both Ixodes ricinus persulcatus have shifted northwards recent decades, they become more abundant at the same time. This is thought to be due global climate change its effect directly on or indirectly their host animals. review focuses factors that affect tick activity surviva...

BACKGROUND Ixodes ticks are the main vectors for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. In the United States, B. burgdorferi is the sole causative agent of Lyme borreliosis and is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis. In Europe, 3 Borrelia species-B. burgdorferi, B. garinii, and B. afzelii-are prevalent, which are transmitted by Ixodes ricinus. The I. scapularis salivary protein Salp15 has been shown to ...

Rodents in central Europe, such as the Edible Dormouse , are common hosts for many ectoparasites, including ticks. One of most extensively studied tick species is Ixodes ricinus, whose geographic distribution extends from Scandinavia to Morocco. In 2014, a new North African I. inopinatus was described and found Morocco, Tunisia, Iberian Peninsula, peripherally also Romania, Austria, southern Ge...

Arsenophonus nasoniae, a male-killing endosymbiont of chalcid wasps, was recently detected in several hard tick species. Following the hypothesis that its presence in ticks may not be linked to the direct occurrence of bacteria in tick's organs, we identified A. nasoniae in wasps emerging from parasitised nymphs. We confirmed that 28.1% of Ixodiphagus hookeri wasps parasitizing Ixodes ricinus t...

A total of 472 field-collected Ixodes ricinus ticks from southern Germany were investigated by immunofluorescence for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi with a polyvalent rabbit immune serum and with monoclonal antibodies specific for outer surface proteins A and C (OspA and OspC, respectively). Borreliae were detected in 90 ticks with the polyvalent immunofluorescence assay. Infection rates ...

Adult Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected in Switzerland and tested for the presence of coinfection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent by real-time PCR. Of 100 ticks, 49% were positive for B. burgdorferi and 2% were positive for the HGE agent. The two HGE agent-positive ticks were also found to be positive for B. burgdorferi.

Real-time PCR analysis of a groESL heat shock operon segment showed the presence of two genetic lineages of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Ixodes ricinus ticks as well as one variant in wild red and roe deer, the latter supposedly representing the natural reservoir of one variant of A. phagocytophilum.

IN Europe, cases of Lyme borreliosis, tickborne encephalitis and granulocytic anaplasmosis have increased in human beings, domestic animals and wildlife, expanding their geographical ranges to much of Scandinavia and eastern Europe. Proposed explanations include improved surveillance and diagnosis, changes in human behaviour, climate change, and increasing numbers of reservoir hosts and vectors...