Detection of InvasiveBorrelia burgdorferiStrains in North‐Eastern Piedmont, Italy

Autor: Maria Domenica Pintore, Leonardo A. Ceballos, Francesca Rizzo, M. Bardelli, Laura Tomassone, D. Corbellini, Alessandra Pautasso, Simone Peletto, M. L. Mandola, Pier Luigi Acutis, Barbara Iulini, Alessandro Mannelli, Cristina Casalone
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Zoonoses and Public Health. 62:365-374
ISSN: 1863-2378
1863-1959
DOI: 10.1111/zph.12156
Popis: SummaryFollowing reports of human cases of Lyme borreliosis from the Ossola Valley, amountainous area of Piemonte, north-western Italy, the abundance and altitudi-nal distribution of ticks, and infection of these vectors with Borrelia burgdorferisensu lato were evaluated. A total of 1662 host-seeking Ixodes ricinus were col-lected by dragging from April to September 2011 at locations between 400 and1450 m above sea level. Additional 104 I. ricinus were collected from 35 huntedwild animals (4 chamois, 8 roe deer, 23 red deer). Tick density, expressed as thenumber of ticks per 100 m 2 , resulted highly variable among different areas, rang-ing from 0 to 105 larvae and from 0 to 22 nymphs. A sample of 352 ticks (327from dragging and 25 from wild animals) was screened by a PCR assay targetinga fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of B. burgdorferi s.l. Positive samples were con-firmed with a PCR assay specific for the 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer regionand sequenced. Four genospecies were found: B. afzelii (prevalence 4.0%),B. lusitaniae (4.0%), B. garinii (1.5%) and B. valaisiana (0.3%). Phylogeneticanalysis based on the ospC gene showed that most of the Borrelia strains frompathogenic genospecies had the potential for human infection and for invasion ofsecondary body sites.IntroductionLyme Borreliosis (LB) is a multisystem disorder affectinghumans and domestic animals. It is caused by spirochetesbelonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi species complex (Bor-relia burgdorferi sensu lato, s.l.), including 19 genospecieswith a worldwide distribution (Mannelli et al., 2012). InEurope, five genospecies, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.),B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. spielmanii, B. bavariensis, are con-sidered pathogenic for humans. Others, like B. valaisiana,B. lusitaniae, B. bissettii and B. finlandensis are of uncertainpathogenicity (EUCALB, 2013). LB is the most commontickborne infection in Europe, and it is transmitted by thebite of ticks of the genus Ixodes, mainly Ixodes ricinus. Smalland medium-sized mammals, birds and reptiles are impor-tant for the maintenance of B. burgdorferi genospecies.Humans are considered incompetent hosts (Jongejan andUilenberg, 2004; Mannelli et al., 2012). Clinically, silentinfection is common. Human infections often begin with acharacteristic skin lesion (erythema migrans) and flu-like
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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