Tick-borne pathogens in Finland: comparison of Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus in sympatric and parapatric areas.

摘要: Almost 3500 tick samples, originally collected via a nationwide citizen science campaign in 2015, were screened to reveal the prevalence and distribution of wide spectrum established putative tick-borne pathogens vectored by Ixodes ricinus I. persulcatus Finland. The unique geographical these two species Finland allowed us compare pathogen occurrence between an ricinus-dominated area (southern Finland), persulcatus-dominated (northern sympatric (central Finland). Of analysed ticks, almost 30% carried at least one 2% more than pathogen. A higher overall was observed persulcatus: 30.0% (604/2014) versus 24.0% (348/1451), respectively. In addition, frequently co-infected 2.4% (49/2014) 0.8% (12/1451), Causative agents Lyme borreliosis, i.e. bacterial genospecies Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) group, most prevalent (overall 17%). “Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae” found for first time ticks Finnish general. Moreover, Babesia divergens, B. venatorum Neoehrlichia mikurensis” reported from mainland. present study provides valuable information on various this comprehensive subset revealed presence rare potentially dangerous pathogens. highest infected southern Finland, while essentially equal areas. However, infection rates both areas their dominance, either south or north