Evidence of Babesia microti infection in multi-infected Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Russia
Evidence of Babesia microti infection in multi-infected Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Russia
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DOI：
10.1023/a:1025841901909
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发表时间：
2003-01-01
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Dubinina, HV
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alekseev, AN;Semenov, AV;Dubinina, HV
To detect Babesia-infected Ixodes persulcatus Shulze in a suburb of St. Petersburg, Russia, 738 adult ticks were studied using Babesia specific primers and PCR techniques. The entire sample ( more than 1,200 individuals) was screened for the presence of Borrelia spp., Ehrlichia spp. and tickborne encephalitis virus ( TBEV). All 7 ticks infected with Babesia microti, were also infected with other pathogens ( all 7 among 417 infected ticks, zero amongst the remaining 321 naive ones (chi(2) = 5.25, p < 0.05). Babesia microti occurred twice with Borrelia afzelii, 3 times with Borrelia garinii, once with both, and once with both B. garinii and TBEV. The prevalence of infection with Borrelia spp. was 34.0%, with Ehrlichia spp. 6.2%, with TBEV 1.5%, and with Ba microti 0.9%. Babesia microti infection was not found in combination with Ehrlichia sp. or Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. The latter pathogen ( prevalence 2.6%), just like Ba. microti, was not encountered as a monoinfection. The data suggest that Ba. microti infection can only survive in I. persulcatus in combination with Borrelia spp. ( 7 of 7 infections). The disease in humans is more severe and longer-lasting when more than one pathogen is involved. Our observations show that the well known St. Petersburg focus of tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease is also a focus of ehrlichiosis and babesiosis.
