Spatial and temporal variation of five different pathogens and symbionts in Ixodes ricinus nymphs in the Netherlands.

ABSTRACT: The incidence of diseases caused by pathogens transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus vary over time and space through incompletely understood mechanisms. An important determinant of the disease risk is the density of infected ticks, which is the infection prevalence times the density of questing ticks. We therefore investigated the spatial and temporal variation of four pathogens and one of the most abundant symbionts in Ixodes ricinus in questing nymphs over four years of monthly collections in 12 locations in the Netherlands. The infection prevalence of all microbes showed markedly different patterns with significant spatial variation for Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Rickettsia helvetica, and Midichloria mitochondrii</

SUBMITTER: Hartemink N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11414485 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature