TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of Bartonella henselae and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Europe
AU - Dietrich, Florian
AU - Schmidgen, Thomas
AU - Maggi, Ricardo G.
AU - Richter, Dania
AU - Matuschka, Franz Rainer
AU - Vonthein, Reinhard
AU - Breitschwerdt, Edward B.
AU - Kempf, Volkhard A.J.
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - Bartonella spp. can cause persistent bloodstream infections in humans and animals. To determine whether Bartonella henselae is present in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks, we analyzed the prevalence of B. henselae DNA among tick stages compared to the prevalence of DNA from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the pathogen most frequently transmitted by ticks. B. henselae DNA was present with a prevalence of up to ∼40% in tick populations sampled in four European sites (Eberdingen, Germany; Klasdorf, Germany; Lembach, France; and Madeira, Portugal). The odds of detecting B. henselae DNA in nymphal ticks was ∼ 14-fold higher than in adult ticks. No tick was found to be coinfected with B. henselae and B. burgdorferi sensu lato. Taken together, our data indicate that ticks might serve as a vector for the transmission of B. henselae to humans.
AB - Bartonella spp. can cause persistent bloodstream infections in humans and animals. To determine whether Bartonella henselae is present in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks, we analyzed the prevalence of B. henselae DNA among tick stages compared to the prevalence of DNA from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the pathogen most frequently transmitted by ticks. B. henselae DNA was present with a prevalence of up to ∼40% in tick populations sampled in four European sites (Eberdingen, Germany; Klasdorf, Germany; Lembach, France; and Madeira, Portugal). The odds of detecting B. henselae DNA in nymphal ticks was ∼ 14-fold higher than in adult ticks. No tick was found to be coinfected with B. henselae and B. burgdorferi sensu lato. Taken together, our data indicate that ticks might serve as a vector for the transmission of B. henselae to humans.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77649198338&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1128/AEM.02788-09
DO - 10.1128/AEM.02788-09
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 20061459
AN - SCOPUS:77649198338
SN - 0099-2240
VL - 76
SP - 1395
EP - 1398
JO - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
JF - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
IS - 5
ER -