Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases最新文献

{"title":"Web search volume as a near-real-time complementary surveillance tool of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Italy","authors":"Alexander Domnich ,&nbsp;Allegra Ferrari ,&nbsp;Matilde Ogliastro ,&nbsp;Andrea Orsi ,&nbsp;Giancarlo Icardi","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102332","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102332","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Internet is an important gateway for accessing health-related information, and data generated through web queries have been increasingly used as a complementary source for monitoring and forecasting of infectious diseases and they may partially address the issue of underreporting. In this study, we assessed whether tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)-related Internet search volume may be useful as a complementary tool for TBE surveillance in Italy. Monthly Google Trends (GT) data for TBE-related information were extracted for the period between January 2017 and September 2022, corresponding to the available time series of TBE notifications in Italy. Time series modeling was performed by applying seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models with or without GT data. The search terms relative to tick bites reflected best the observed temporal distribution of TBE cases, showing a correlation coefficient of 0.81 (95 % CI: 0.71–0.88). Particularly, both the reported number of TBE cases and GT searches occurred mainly during the summer. The peak of disease notifications coincided with that of Google searches in 4 of 6 years. Once calibrated, SARIMA models with or without GT data were applied to a validation set. Retrospective forecast made by the model with GT data was associated with a lower prediction error and accurately predicted the peak timing. By contrast, the traditional SARIMA model underestimated the actual number of TBE notifications by 65 %. Timeliness, easy availability, low cost and transparency make monitoring of the TBE-related Internet search queries a promising addition to the traditional methods of TBE surveillance in Italy.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102332"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000256/pdfft?md5=c5943bb84f58074090a1d86d8a60f0d1&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000256-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140112946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New records of soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) from caves in Brazil, with a morphological study of Ornithodoros fonsecai and an analysis of the taxonomic status of Antricola inexpectata","authors":"Glauber M.B. de Oliveira ,&nbsp;Sebastián Muñoz-Leal ,&nbsp;Santiago Nava ,&nbsp;Maurício C. Horta ,&nbsp;Leopoldo Bernardi ,&nbsp;José Manuel Venzal ,&nbsp;Marcelo B. Labruna","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102331","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102331","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, we report soft ticks from bat-inhabiting caves in different areas of Brazil. From 2010 to 2019, we collected 807 tick specimens from nine caves located in four Brazilian states among two biomes. Ticks were morphologically identified as <em>Antricola guglielmonei</em> (282 specimens)<em>, Ornithodoros cavernicolous</em> (260 specimens), and <em>Ornithodoros fonsecai</em> (265 specimens). Whereas <em>A. guglielmonei</em> was collected on bat guano in hot caves, <em>O. cavernicolous</em> and <em>O. fonsecai</em> were collected in cracks and crevices on the walls of cold caves, sometimes in the same chamber. Morphological identifications were corroborated by molecular and phylogenetic analyses inferred from tick mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene partial sequences. The sequences of <em>A. guglielmonei, O. cavernicolous</em> and <em>O. fonsecai</em> collected in this study clustered with conspecific GenBank sequences from different localities of Brazil. Remarkably, a clade containing 12 sequences of <em>O. fonsecai</em> was clearly bifurcated, denoting a degree of genetic divergence (up to 5 %) of specimens from Cerrado/Atlantic Forest biomes with the specimens from the Caatinga biome. To further evaluate this divergence, we performed morphometric analysis of the larval stage of different <em>O. fonsencai</em> populations by principal component analysis, which indicated that the larvae from Caatinga populations were generally smaller than the larvae from other biomes. Some of the present <em>A. guglielmonei</em> specimens were collected from the type locality of <em>Antricola inexpectata.</em> Comparisons of these specimens with the type specimens of <em>A. inexpectata</em> and <em>A. guglielmonei</em> indicated that they could not be separated by their external morphology<em>.</em> Hence, we are relegating <em>A. inexpectata</em> to a synonym of <em>A. guglielmonei.</em> This proposal is corroborated by our phylogenetic analysis.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102331"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000244/pdfft?md5=b320efc333adba87f6fa48d4a6540d50&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000244-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140069470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The structure and behavioral patterns of the human population affected by ixodid tick bites in Irkutsk Region, Eastern Siberia, Russia","authors":"Nadezhda A. Podkamennaya,&nbsp;Galina A. Danchinova,&nbsp;Natalia A. Liapunova,&nbsp;Innokentii S. Solovarov,&nbsp;Ekaterina K. Lagunova,&nbsp;Nadezhda V. Khamnueva,&nbsp;Vladimir Yu. Shubin,&nbsp;Marina V. Savelkaeva,&nbsp;Irina V. Petrova,&nbsp;Maxim A. Khasnatinov","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102327","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The bites of hard ticks are the major route of transmission of tick-borne infections to humans, causing thousands of cases of diseases worldwide. However, the characteristics of the human population that is exposed to tick bites are still understudied. This work is aimed at characterizing both the structure of the population directly contacting ticks and the human behavioral features associated with tick bites. We studied 25,970 individuals who sought medical help after a tick bite at the Centre for Diagnostics and Prevention of Tick-borne Infections (CDPTBI) in Irkutsk City (Russian Federation). The demographic and behavioral characteristics of the human population were analyzed using z-tests for proportions, the Mann-Whitney <em>U</em> test, and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The majority of bitten people were urban residents (70 %), and most of them were either of active ages between 30 and 74 years old (62 %), or children between 0 and 9 years old (approximately 20%). Tick bites occurred mostly in the range of 150 km around the location of the diagnostic facility (83 %). In comparison to the general population, significant differences were revealed in the representation of different age groups among bitten people. The population affected by tick bites included fewer men and women in the ages of 10–29 and over 75 years old than would be predicted based on the demographics of the general population. Vice versa, the proportions of people in the ages of 5–9 and 60–74 increased among bitten people. Among men, such activities (in order of occurrence) as “leisure and recreation”, “visiting allotments”, “foraging for forest food”, and “fulfilling work duties” tend to be more associated with tick bites. Among women, tick bites occurred mainly during “visiting allotments”, “leisure and recreation”, “visiting cemeteries” and “contact with pets and plants at home”. The overall vaccination rate was 12 %; however, significantly more men than women were vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis (up to 20 % vs. approximately 7 % respectively). The structure of the tick bite - affected population suggests that it is age-specific human behavior that mainly determines the frequency of contact between people and ticks. However, in several age groups, especially among children from 5 to 9 and people aged 30–39 years old, gender-related factors could significantly change the exposure of people to tick bites.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102327"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000207/pdfft?md5=c95609ddcbc3fa13ab336999e2d1cc3c&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000207-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140062700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Density and behavior of capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Amblyomma sculptum and Amblyomma dubitatum with notes on Rickettsia bellii infection: Assessing human exposure risk","authors":"Matias P.J. Szabó ,&nbsp;Caroline Lopes Queiroz ,&nbsp;Adriane Suzin ,&nbsp;Vinicius da Silva Rodrigues ,&nbsp;Raíssa Brauner Kamla Vieira ,&nbsp;Maria Marlene Martins ,&nbsp;Lais Miguel Rezende ,&nbsp;Ana Carolina P. Sousa ,&nbsp;Vanessa do Nascimento Ramos ,&nbsp;Fernanda Marinho Muraro ,&nbsp;Lais Keocheguerian Fernandes ,&nbsp;Lorena C.M. Santos ,&nbsp;Rodrigo da Costa Maia ,&nbsp;Amanda Ferreira Rezende","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102330","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;In several urban and peri‑urban areas of Brazil, populations of &lt;em&gt;Amblyomma sculptum&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Amblyomma dubitatum&lt;/em&gt; ticks are maintained by capybaras (&lt;em&gt;Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris&lt;/em&gt;). In some of these areas, this host and these tick species are associated with Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), a lethal human disease caused by the bacterium &lt;em&gt;Rickettsia rickettsii&lt;/em&gt;. In this work, we evaluated the risk of human exposure to these tick species using four collection techniques to discern host-seeking behavior. The study was carried out in 10 urban sites inhabited by capybaras in Uberlândia, a BSF-free municipality in southeastern Brazil. Ticks were collected in areas of 400 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; at each site and at three seasons. Within the same municipality, the distance and speed of &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; nymphs moving towards the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; traps were evaluated. In a sample of ticks &lt;em&gt;Rickettsia&lt;/em&gt; DNA was investigated. During the study period, 52,953 ticks were collected. Among these, 83.4 % were &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; (1,523 adults, 10,545 nymphs and 32,104 larvae) and 16.6 % were &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum&lt;/em&gt; (464 adults, 2,153 nymphs and 6,164 larvae). An average annual questing tick density of 4.4/m² was observed, with the highest density recorded at one site in autumn (31.8/m²) and the lowest in summer at another site (0.03/m²). The visual search yielded the highest proportion of &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; larvae, constituting 47 % of the total and 63.6 % of all &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; larvae. In contrast, CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; traps collected a greater proportion of nymphs and adults of &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; ticks. In the case of &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum&lt;/em&gt;, the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; trap was the most efficient technique with 57.7 % of captures of this species, especially of nymphs (94.5 % of captures) and adults (97.8 % of captures). Ticks' ambush height on vegetation (9 to 77 cm), observed by visual search 30 times, yielded a total of 20,771 ticks. Of these, 28 (93 %) were &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; ticks, with only two (7 %) identified as &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum&lt;/em&gt; ticks. Among &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; ticks, the nymph was the most attracted stage to humans and larva in the case of &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum. Amblyomma sculptum&lt;/em&gt; adults and nymphs were significantly more attracted to humans than those of &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum,&lt;/em&gt; but &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum&lt;/em&gt; larvae were significantly more attracted than the same stage of &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt;. The maximum distance and speed of horizontal displacement for &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; nymphs were five meters and 2.0 m/h, respectively. The only species of &lt;em&gt;Rickettsia&lt;/em&gt; detected in ticks, exclusively in &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum,&lt;/em&gt; was &lt;em&gt;R. bellii&lt;/em&gt;. Importantly, it was observed that the higher the proportion of &lt;em&gt;A. sculptum&lt;/em&gt; in the community of ticks, the lower the rate of infection of &lt;em&gt;A. dubitatum&lt;/em&gt; by &lt;em&gt;R. bellii&lt;/em&gt;. In conclusion, host-seeking behavior differed between the two tick species, as well as between stages of ","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102330"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000232/pdfft?md5=0a3c0c205f4bef6c950aedc17eb4710f&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000232-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140066922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Potential novel Colpodella spp. (phylum Apicomplexa) and high prevalence of Colpodella spp. in goat-attached Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks in Shandong province, China","authors":"Yong Qi ,&nbsp;Junhu Wang ,&nbsp;Nianhong Lu ,&nbsp;Xin Qi ,&nbsp;Chaoyue Yang ,&nbsp;Bing Liu ,&nbsp;Yongfeng Lu ,&nbsp;Yuan Gu ,&nbsp;Weilong Tan ,&nbsp;Changqiang Zhu ,&nbsp;Lele Ai ,&nbsp;Jixian Rao ,&nbsp;Yingqing Mao ,&nbsp;Haiming Yi ,&nbsp;Yuexi Li ,&nbsp;Ming Yue","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102328","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102328","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Tick-borne Apicomplexan parasites pose a significant threat to both public health and animal husbandry. Identifying potential pathogenic parasites and gathering their epidemiological data are essential for prospectively preventing and controlling infections. In the present study, genomic DNA of ticks collected from two goat flocks (Goatflock1 and Goatflock2) and one dog group (Doggroup) were extracted and the 18S rRNA gene of <em>Babesia</em>/<em>Theileria</em>/<em>Colpodella</em> spp. was amplified by PCR and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted based on the obtained sequences. The differences in pathogen positive rates between ticks of different groups were statistically analyzed using the Chi-square or continuity-adjusted Chi-square test. As a result, two pathogenic <em>Theileria</em> (<em>T.</em>) <em>luwenshuni</em> genotypes, one novel pathogenic <em>Colpodella</em> sp. HLJ genotype, and two potential novel <em>Colpodella</em> spp. (referred to as <em>Colpodella</em> sp. struthionis and <em>Colpodella</em> sp. yiyuansis in this study) were identified in the <em>Haemaphysalis</em> (<em>H</em>.) <em>longicornis</em> ticks. Ticks of Goatflock2 had a significantly higher positive rate of <em>Colpodella</em> spp. than those from Goatflock1 (χ2=92.10; <em>P</em> = 8.2 × 10⁻²²) and Doggroup (χ2=42.34; <em>P</em> = 7.7 × 10⁻¹¹), and a significantly higher positive rate of <em>T. luwenshuni</em> than Doggroup (χ2=5.38; <em>P</em> = 0.02). However, the positive rates of <em>T. luwenshuni</em> between Goatflock1 and Goatflock2 were not significantly different (χ2=2.02; <em>P</em> = 0.16), and so as the positive rates of both pathogens between Goatflock1 and Doggroup groups (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). For either <em>Colpodella</em> spp. or <em>T. luwenshuni</em>, no significant difference was found in prevalence between male and female ticks. These findings underscore the potential importance of <em>Colpodella</em> spp. in domestic animal-attached ticks, as our study revealed two novel <em>Colpodella</em> spp. and identified <em>Colpodella</em> spp. in <em>H. longicornis</em> for the first time. The study also sheds light on goats' potential roles in the transmission of <em>Colpodella</em> spp. to ticks and provides crucial epidemiological data of pathogenic <em>Theileria</em> and <em>Colpodella</em>. These data may help physicians, veterinarians, and public health officers prepare suitable detection and treatment methods and develop prevention and control strategies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102328"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000219/pdfft?md5=5fca0c6b06add2ec4b2651f5a4c73b14&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000219-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140016088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Incidence of Lyme Borreliosis in Germany: A retrospective observational healthcare claims study","authors":"Gordon Brestrich ,&nbsp;Christine Hagemann ,&nbsp;Joanna Diesing ,&nbsp;Nils Kossack ,&nbsp;James H. Stark ,&nbsp;Andreas Pilz ,&nbsp;Frederick J. Angulo ,&nbsp;Holly Yu ,&nbsp;Jochen Suess","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102326","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick–borne disease in Germany. Although the incidence of LB in Germany has been assessed in several studies, those studies either used data from statutory surveillance, which frequently underreport cases, or data from health claims databases, which may overestimate cases due to non–specific LB case definitions. Here, using a more specific case definition, we describe the incidence of medically–attended LB by disease manifestation, age group, and federal state for the period 2015–2019. Both inpatient and outpatient cases were analyzed from a claims database. To be eligible for inclusion, patients were required to have an LB specific ICD–10 GM diagnosis code plus an antibiotic prescription, and for disseminated manifestations, a laboratory test order additionally. LB cases were classified as erythema migrans (EM), or disseminated disease including Lyme arthritis (LA), Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), and all other disease manifestations (OTH). Between 2015 and 2019, the incidence of medically–attended LB cases ranged from 195.7/100,000 population per year (95% confidence interval [CI], 191.0 – 200.5) to 254.5/100,000 population per year (95% CI, 249.0 – 260.0) per year. The majority of cases (92.2%) were EM, while 2.8% presented as LA, 3.8% as LNB, and 1.2% as OTH. For both EM and disseminated disease, the incidence peaked in children aged 5–9 years and in older adults. By federal state, the incidence of medically–attended EM ranged from 74.4/100,000 population per year (95% CI, 71.9 – 77.0) per year in Hamburg, to 394.1/100,000 population per year (95% CI, 370.7 – 417.6) per year in Saxony, whereas for medically–attended disseminated disease, the highest incidence was in Thuringia, Saxony, and Bavaria (range: 22.0 [95% CI, 19.9 – 24.0] to 35.7 [95% CI, 34.7 – 36.7] per 100,000 population per year). This study comprehensively estimated the incidence of all manifestations of medically–attended LB and showed a high incidence of LB throughout Germany. Results from the study support performing epidemiological studies in all federal states to measure the burden of LB and to invest in public health interventions for prevention.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102326"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000190/pdfft?md5=29de3bf09242fed1e6ab649b2395e60e&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000190-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139985608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New insights into the systematics of the afrotropical Amblyomma marmoreum complex (Acari: Ixodidae) and the genome of a novel Rickettsia africae strain using morphological and metagenomic approaches","authors":"Andrea P. Cotes-Perdomo ,&nbsp;Alberto Sánchez-Vialas ,&nbsp;Richard Thomas ,&nbsp;Andrew Jenkins ,&nbsp;Juan E. Uribe","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102323","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102323","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The <em>Amblyomma marmoreum</em> complex includes afrotropical species, such as <em>Amblyomma sparsum</em>, a three-host tick that parasitizes reptiles, birds, and mammals, and is a recognized vector of <em>Ehrlichia ruminantium</em>. However, the lack of morphological, genetic and ecological data on <em>A. sparsum</em> has caused considerable confusion in its identification. In this study, we used microscopy and metagenomic approaches to analyze <em>A. sparsum</em> ticks collected from a puff adder snake (<em>Bitis arietans</em>) in southwest Senegal (an endemic rickettsioses area) in order to supplement previous morphological descriptions, provide novel genomic data for the <em>A. marmoreum</em> complex, and describe the genome of a novel spotted fever group <em>Rickettsia</em> strain. Based on stereoscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) morphological evaluations, we provide high-quality images and new insights about punctation and enameling in the adult male of <em>A. sparsum</em> to facilitate identification for future studies. The metagenomic approach allowed us assembly the complete mitochondrial genome of <em>A. sparsum</em>, as well as the nearly entire chromosome and complete plasmid sequences of a novel <em>Rickettsia africae</em> strain. Phylogenomic analyses demonstrated a close relationship between <em>A. sparsum</em> and <em>Amblyomma nuttalli</em> for the first time and confirmed the position of <em>A. sparsum</em> within the <em>A. marmoreum</em> complex<em>.</em> Our results provide new insights into the systematics of <em>A. sparsum</em> and <em>A. marmoreum</em> complex, as well as the genetic diversity of <em>R. africae</em> in the Afrotropical region. Future studies should consider the possibility that <em>A. sparsum</em> may be a vector for <em>R. africae</em>.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102323"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000165/pdfft?md5=ef7b50ce7d9ff7100a8cad0f8b828f1c&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000165-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139933780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"History of the geographic distribution of the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus, in the United States","authors":"Lars Eisen ,&nbsp;Megan E.M. Saunders ,&nbsp;Vicki L. Kramer ,&nbsp;Rebecca J. Eisen","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Ixodes pacificus</em> (the western blacklegged tick) occurs in the far western United States (US), where it commonly bites humans. This tick was not considered a species of medical concern until it was implicated in the 1980s as a vector of Lyme disease spirochetes. Later, it was discovered to also be the primary vector to humans in the far western US of agents causing anaplasmosis and hard tick relapsing fever. The core distribution of <em>I. pacificus</em> in the US includes California, western Oregon, and western Washington, with outlier populations reported in Utah and Arizona. In this review, we provide a history of the documented occurrence of <em>I. pacificus</em> in the US from the 1890s to present, and discuss associations of its geographic range with landscape, hosts, and climate. In contrast to <em>Ixodes scapularis</em> (the blacklegged tick) in the eastern US, there is no evidence for a dramatic change in the geographic distribution of <em>I. pacificus</em> over the last half-century. Field surveys in the 1930s and 1940s documented <em>I. pacificus</em> along the Pacific Coast from southern California to northern Washington, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and in western Utah. County level collection records often included both immatures and adults of <em>I. pacificus</em>, recovered by drag sampling or from humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. The estimated geographic distribution presented for <em>I. pacificus</em> in 1945 by Bishopp and Trembley is similar to that presented in 2022 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no clear evidence of range expansion for <em>I. pacificus</em>, separate from tick records in new areas that could have resulted from newly initiated or intensified surveillance efforts. Moreover, there is no evidence from long-term studies that the density of questing <em>I. pacificus</em> ticks has increased over time in specific areas. It therefore is not surprising that the incidence of Lyme disease has remained stable in the Pacific Coast states from the early 1990s, when it became a notifiable condition, to present. We note that deforestation and deer depredation were less severe in the far western US during the 1800s and early 1900s compared to the eastern US. This likely contributed to <em>I. pacificus</em> maintaining stable, widespread populations across its geographic range in the far western US in the early 1900s, while <em>I. scapularis</em> during the same time period appears to have been restricted to a small number of geographically isolated refugia sites within its present range in the eastern US. The impact that a warming climate may have had on the geographic distribution and local abundance of <em>I. pacificus</em> in recent decades remains unclear.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102325"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000189/pdfft?md5=90d5dea6d596507a94a01843e534e732&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000189-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139926467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Borrelia miyamotoi BipA-like protein, BipM, is a candidate serodiagnostic antigen distinguishing between Lyme disease and relapsing fever Borrelia infections","authors":"Kevin S. Brandt,&nbsp;Brittany A. Armstrong,&nbsp;Irina Goodrich,&nbsp;Robert D. Gilmore","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102324","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A <em>Borrelia miyamotoi</em> gene with partial homology to <em>bipA</em> of relapsing fever spirochetes <em>Borrelia hermsii</em> and <em>Borrelia turicatae</em> was identified by a GenBank basic alignment search analysis. We hypothesized that this gene product may be an immunogenic antigen as described for other relapsing fever <em>Borrelia</em> (RFB) and could serve as a serological marker for <em>B. miyamotoi</em> infections. The <em>B. miyamotoi</em> gene was a truncated version about half the size of the <em>B. hermsii</em> and <em>B. turicatae bipA</em> with a coding sequence of 894 base pairs. The gene product had a calculated molecular size of 32.7 kDa (including the signal peptide). Amino acid alignments with <em>B. hermsii</em> and <em>B. turicatae</em> BipA proteins and with other <em>B. miyamotoi</em> isolates showed conservation at the carboxyl end. We cloned the <em>B. miyamotoi bipA</em>-like gene (herein named <em>bipM</em>) and generated recombinant protein for serological characterization and for antiserum production. Protease protection analysis demonstrated that BipM was surface exposed. Serologic analyses using anti-<em>B. miyamotoi</em> serum samples from tick bite-infected and needle inoculated mice showed 94 % positivity against BipM. The 4 BipM negative serum samples were blotted against another <em>B. miyamotoi</em> antigen, BmaA, and two of them were seropositive resulting in 97 % positivity with both antigens. Serum samples from <em>B. burgdorferi</em> sensu stricto (s.s.)-infected mice were non-reactive against rBipM by immunoblot. Serum samples from Lyme disease patients were also serologically negative against BipM except for 1 sample which may have indicated a possible co-infection. A recently published study demonstrated that <em>B. miyamotoi</em> BipM was non-reactive against serum samples from <em>B. hermsii, Borrelia parkeri</em>, and <em>B. turicatae</em> infected animals. These results show that BipM has potential for a <em>B. miyamotoi</em>-infection specific and sensitive serodiagnostic to differentiate between Lyme disease and various RFB infections.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102324"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000177/pdfft?md5=0699a1ae6a90c695ec6e72ce12db38c8&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000177-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139748474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Density of host-seeking Ixodes scapularis nymphs by region, state, and county in the contiguous United States generated through national tick surveillance","authors":"Erik Foster,&nbsp;Karen M. Holcomb,&nbsp;Rebecca J. Eisen","doi":"10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102316","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The majority of vector-borne disease cases reported annually in the United States are caused by pathogens spread by the blacklegged tick, <em>Ixodes scapularis</em>. The number and geographic distribution of cases have increased as the geographic range and abundance of the tick have expanded in recent decades. A large proportion of Lyme disease and other <em>I. scapularis</em>-borne diseases are associated with nymphal tick bites; likelihood of such bites generally increases with increasing nymphal densities. National tick surveillance was initiated in 2018 to track changes in the distribution and abundance of medically important ticks at the county spatial scale throughout the United States. Tick surveillance records, including historical data collected prior to the initiation of the national program, are collated in the ArboNET Tick Module database. Through exploration of ArboNET Tick Module data, we found that efforts to quantify the density of host-seeking <em>I. scapularis</em> nymphs (DON) were unevenly distributed among geographic regions with the greatest proportion of counties sampled in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Submissions covering tick collections from 2004 through 2022 revealed extensive variation in DON estimates at collection site, county, state, and regional spatial scales. Throughout the entire study period, county DON estimates ranged from 0.0 to 488.5 nymphs/1,000 m². Although substantial variation was recorded within regions, DON estimates were greatest in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and northern states within the Southeast regions (Virginia and North Carolina); densities were intermediate in the Ohio Valley and very low in the South and Northern Rockies and Plains regions. The proportion of counties classified as moderate or high DON was greater in the Northeast, Ohio Valley, and Southeast regions during the 2004 through 2017 time period (prior to initiation of the national tick surveillance program) compared to 2018 through 2022; DON estimates remained similarly low between these time periods in the South and the Northern Rockies and Plains regions. Despite the limitations described herein, the ArboNET Tick Module provides useful data for tracking changes in acarological risk across multiple geographic scales and long periods of time.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49320,"journal":{"name":"Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases","volume":"15 3","pages":"Article 102316"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X24000098/pdfft?md5=ba2f3fee0e149c5eb198b529d0a1024f&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X24000098-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139699812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}