Prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in Ticks and Serological and Clinical Outcomes in Tick-Bitten Individuals in Sweden and on the Åland Islands

Autor: Johanna Sjöwall, Anders Lindblom, Peter Wilhelmsson, Kenneth Nilsson, Linda Fryland, Katarina Wallménius, Pia Forsberg, Per-Eric Lindgren
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Male
Bacterial Diseases
0301 basic medicine
Epidemiology
Fevers
lcsh:Medicine
Artificial Gene Amplification and Extension
Infektionsmedicin
Disease Vectors
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Serology
Ticks
0302 clinical medicine
Medicine and Health Sciences
Rickettsia
lcsh:Science
Aged
80 and over
Multidisciplinary
biology
Coinfection
Nausea
Middle Aged
Bacterial Pathogens
Infectious Diseases
Medical Microbiology
Female
Pathogens
Borrelia Infections
Encephalitis
Tick-Borne
Encephalitis
Research Article
Adult
Infectious Medicine
Ixodes ricinus
Fever
Arthropoda
030231 tropical medicine
030106 microbiology
Tick
Research and Analysis Methods
Microbiology
Encephalitis Viruses
Tick-Borne
03 medical and health sciences
Signs and Symptoms
Diagnostic Medicine
Borrelia
Arachnida
medicine
Animals
Humans
Seroconversion
Molecular Biology Techniques
Microbial Pathogens
Molecular Biology
Aged
Sweden
Tick Bites
Ixodes
Bacteria
lcsh:R
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
Rickettsia Infections
biology.organism_classification
medicine.disease
bacterial infections and mycoses
Invertebrates
Borrelia Infection
Virology
Spotted fever
Immunology
lcsh:Q
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 11, p e0166653 (2016)
PLoS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Tick-transmitted diseases are an emerging health problem, and the hard tick Ixodes ricinus is the main vector for Borrelia spp., tick-borne encephalitis virus and most of the spotted fever Rickettsiae in Europe. The aim of the present study was to examine the incidence of rickettsial infection in the southernmost and south central parts of Sweden and the Aland Islands in Finland the risk of infection in humans and its correlation with a bite of a Rickettsia-infected tick, the self-reported symptoms of rickettsial disease, and the prevalence of co-infection between Rickettsia spp. and Borrelia spp. Persons with a recent tick bite were enrolled through public media and asked to answer a questionnaire, provide a blood sample and bring detached ticks at enlistment and at follow-up three months later. Blood samples were previously analysed for Borrelia spp. antibodies and, for this report, analysed for antibodies to Rickettsia spp. by immunofluorescence and in 16 cases also using Western Blot. Ninety-six (44.0%) of the 218 participants were seropositive for IgG antibodies to Rickettsia spp. Forty (18.3%) of the seropositive participants had increased titres at the follow-up, indicating recent/current infection, while four (1.8%) had titres indicating probable recent/current infection (amp;gt;= 1: 256). Of 472 ticks, 39 (8.3%) were Rickettsia sp. positive. Five (31.3%) of 16 participants bitten by a Rickettsia-infected tick seroconverted. Experience of the selfreported symptoms nausea (p = 0.006) and radiating pain (p = 0.041) was more common among those with recent, current or probable infection compared to those who did not seroconvert. Participants who showed seroreactivity or seroconversion to Rickettsia spp. had more symptoms than those who were seronegative. Seven (3.2%) participants showed seroconversion to Borrelia spp., and three (1.4%) of these showed seroconversion to both Rickettsia spp. and Borrelia spp., in accordance with previous studies in Sweden. Symptoms of rickettsial disease were in most of the cases vague and general that were difficult to differentiate from other tick-borne diseases. Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council Branch of Medicine [K2008-58X-14631-06-3]; EU Interreg IV A project ScandTick [167226]; County Council of Ostergotland [L10-56191]; Stiftelsen Olle Engqvist Byggmastare [11877]; Uppsala-Orebro-Regional Research 324 Council [25021]; Center for Clinical Research Dalarna [9028]
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: