Detection of tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected in the suburban area of Monte Romano, Lazio Region, Central Italy.

CONCLUSION: Overall, 182 ticks (71%) were infected with at least one pathogen; among these co-infections were found in 94 ticks. Tick borne pathogens identified were C. burnetii, B. burgdorferi s.l., Bartonella spp., Rickettsia spp., Francisella spp., and Ehrlichia spp. In R. bursa and H. marginatum, the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. was positively correlated with that of C. burnetii, Rickettsia spp., and Bartonella spp. and their coinfection probabilities were 29.8%, 22.7% and 11.7%, respectively; the probability of coinfection for Francisella spp. and Rickettsia spp. and for Francisella spp. and Bartonella spp. was 14.9% and 17.9%, respectively. In R. (Boophilus) annulatus, the probability of coinfection between C. burnetii and B. burgdorferi s.l. was 11.3%, while those between C. burnetii and Bartonella spp. and between B. burgdorferi s.l. and Bartonella spp. were 0.8%. Further studies are needed in order to assess the risk associated with these unusual tick-borne pathogens in Central Italy.
PMID: 31264637 [PubMed - in process]

Source: Ann Ist Super Sanita - March 31, 2019 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Mancini F, Vescio MF, Toma L, Di Luca M, Severini F, Cacciò SM, Mariano C, Nicolai G, Laghezza Masci V, Fausto AM, Pezzotti P, Ciervo A Tags: Ann Ist Super Sanita Source Type: research