Assessing the abundance, seasonal questing activity, and Borrelia and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) prevalence of Ixodes ricinus ticks in a Lyme borreliosis endemic area in Southwest Finland

Publication date: Available online 24 October 2015 Source:Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases Author(s): Jani J. Sormunen, Tero Klemola, Eero J. Vesterinen, Ilppo Vuorinen, Jukka Hytönen, Jari Hänninen, Kai Ruohomäki, Ilari E. Sääksjärvi, Elina Tonteri, Ritva Penttinen Studies have revealed that Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) have become more abundant and their geographical distribution extended northwards in some Nordic countries during the past few decades. However, ecological data of tick populations in Finland are sparse. In the current study, I. ricinus abundance, seasonal questing activity, and their Borrelia spp. and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) prevalence were evaluated in a Lyme borreliosis endemic area in Southwest Finland, Seili Island, where a previous study mapping tick densities was conducted 12 years earlier. A total of 1940 ticks were collected from five different biotopes by cloth dragging during May–September 2012. The overall tick density observed was 5.2 ticks/100m2 for nymphs and adults. Seasonal questing activity of ticks differed between biotopes and life stages: bimodal occurrences were observed especially for nymphal and adult ticks in forested biotopes, while larvae in pastures exhibited mostly unimodal occurrence. Prevalence of Borrelia and TBEV in ticks was evaluated using conventional and real-time PCR. All samples were negative for TBEV. Borrelia prevalence was 25.0% for adults (n =44) and the minimum infection...
Source: Ticks and Tick borne Diseases - Category: Zoology Source Type: research