Journal Article

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in Ixodes ricinus Ticks Collected from Kaylaka Park in Pleven, Bulgaria

Milena Atanasova, Svetla Blazheva, Iskren Stanilov, Alexander Blazhev, Lyuba Dineva Miteva, Spaska Stanilova

2022

Overview

We aimed to determine the presence and distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from urbanized and wild areas in Kaylaka Park (Bulgaria). A total of 546 ticks were collected over three years (2017–2019). The presence of Borrelia in 334 of the collected I. ricinus was detected by dark-field microscopy (DFM) and two nested PCRs (nPCR) targeting the borrelial 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer and Flagellin B (FlaB) gene. DFM was performed on a total of 215 ticks, of which 86 (40%) were positive. PCR was performed on 153 of the ticks. In total, 42.5% of the 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer and 49% of FlaB were positive. Considering as positive any single tick in which Borrelia sp. was detected regardless of the used method, the infection rate reached 37% (10/27) in the nymphs and 48.5% (149/307) in the adults (48.7% (77/158) females, 48.3% (72/149) males). The incidence of B. burgdorferi infection in I. ricinus did not differ statistically significantly between female, male, and nymph. This study provides evidence that Lyme disease spirochetes are present in various regions of Kaylaka Park with extremely high prevalence in their vectors.

• Publisher: MDPI AG,MDPI
• Subject: Arachnids / Biology (General) / Borrelia / Borrelia burgdorferi / Females / Flagellin / Infections / Ixodes ricinus / Ixodidae / Ixodidae; vector surveillance; tick-borne disease; spirochetes; urban park / Lyme disease / Parasitic diseases / Parks & recreation areas / Pathogens / Playgrounds / Polymerase chain reaction / QH301-705.5 / rRNA 23S / rRNA 5S / Spirochetes / tick-borne disease / Ticks / Urban areas / urban park / vector surveillance / Vector-borne diseases / Vectors