Zoonotic Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ixodes ricinus Complex (Acari: Ixodidae) From Urban and Peri-Urban Areas of Kosovo.

INTRODUCTION

Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, is the most prevalent tick species in Europe. It favours habitats such as shrubs, deciduous and mixed forests, but can also be found in urban environments. Due to its high vector competence, it is of enormous veterinary as well as medical importance, transmitting tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus, Borrelia burgdorferi s. l., the causative agent of lyme borreliosis, Rickettsia spp. and Anaplasma phagocytophilum amongst many other pathogens. In Kosovo, I. ricinus is the predominant species and a few studies, mostly based on human and animal seroprevalences, indicate the circulation of tick-borne pathogens. However, data on pathogens in I. ricinus are scarce in Kosovo, particularly in urban settings. This study aimed to provide first insights into the circulation of tic-kborne pathogens in I. ricinus from urban and peri-urban areas in Kosovo.

METHODS

Urban and peri-urban areas were sampled by flagging 150 m transects. In total, 197 ticks were morphologicaly identified as I. ricinus, and consequently DNA and RNA were isolated. All individuals were screened for the presence of tick-borne pathogens by using reverse line blotting (RLB) hybridisation.

RESULTS

DNA of nine different pathogens from four genera including Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma spp. and Babesia spp. was detected in 60 (33.5%) specimens. The most frequently detected pathogens were Rickettsia spp. (16.2%), followed by Borrelia spp. (11.7%). Altogether, 54 single infections, 11 double infections and 1 triple infection were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide first data on genotyping of B. burgdorferi sensu lato as well as the detection of Anaplasma, Babesia and Rickettsia from I. ricinus in this country. The data underline that particularly recreational (peri-)urban areas could facilitate the spillover of zoonotic tick-borne pathogens to humans in Kosovo and provide baseline data for future surveys.