Borrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato widespread in urban areas of the Czech Republic

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15310%2F24%3A73628203" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15310/24:73628203 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/62157124:16270/24:43881333 RIV/62157124:16810/24:43881333

Result on the web

<a href="https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-024-06549-2" target="_blank" >https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-024-06549-2</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-024-06549-2" target="_blank" >10.1186/s13071-024-06549-2</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Borrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato widespread in urban areas of the Czech Republic

Original language description

BackgroundBorrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) are important zoonotic agents transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks, which are widely distributed across Central Europe. Understanding the spatial distribution of these pathogens&apos; prevalence will help identify areas with increased infection risk and facilitate the implementation of effective preventive measures.MethodsWe analysed 12,955 I. ricinus ticks collected from 142 towns in the Czech Republic between 2016 and 2018. The ticks were pooled into 2591 groups of five and tested using duplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. and B. miyamotoi. For each location, we estimated the overall prevalence of both agents using the EpiTools Epidemiological Calculator for pooled samples and calculated the minimum infection rate (MIR). To assess the potential risk of infection, we combined data on the abundance of nymphs and females with pathogen prevalence at each sampled site. Using a geographic information system (GIS), we mapped the MIR and infection risk of both Borrelia species across all 142 sampled locations and employed a geostatistical method (ordinary kriging) to predict MIR values and infection risk as continuous surfaces across the entire country.ResultsWe detected B. miyamotoi in 110 localities and B. burgdorferi s.l. in all 142 localities. The estimated prevalence of B. miyamotoi and B. burgdorferi s.l. in the collected ticks was 2.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-2.3) and 27.1% (95% CI 26.0-28.3), respectively. For B. miyamotoi, we identified previously unknown, geographically distinct hotspots of MIR up to 8.3%, with MIR slightly higher in females (2.3%) than in males (1.9%) and nymphs (1.8%), though the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, B. burgdorferi s.l. exhibited ubiquitous presence, with consistently high prevalence nationwide, showing similar MIRs in females (16.2%) and males (16.1%), and slightly lower in nymphs (15.6%). The highest infection risk for B. miyamotoi was 12.4 infected vectors per hour in southeastern Moravia, while the highest risk for B. burgdorferi s.l. reached 78.6 infected vectors per hour in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands.ConclusionsBorrelia miyamotoi is widespread, forming distinct high-prevalence areas in certain regions. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. demonstrates consistently high prevalence across most of the country, except for a few localized areas such as southwestern Czechia. Both pathogens exhibit natural nidality, forming regions with elevated prevalence and infection risk. Long-term time-series data are needed to confirm the spatio-temporal stability of these hotspots.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10613 - Zoology

Project

<a href="/en/project/LUC23151" target="_blank" >LUC23151: Ticks and tick-borne pathogens: new risks in the context of ongoing environmental changes</a><br>

Continuities

R - Projekt Ramcoveho programu EK

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Parasites &amp; Vectors

ISSN

1756-3305

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

17

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

7

Pages from-to

"513-1"-"513-7"

UT code for WoS article

001381012900010

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85212496868