Detection of Invasive Borrelia burgdorferi Strains in North‐Eastern Piedmont,Italy |
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| Authors: | M. D. Pintore L. Ceballos B. Iulini L. Tomassone A. Pautasso D. Corbellini F. Rizzo M. L. Mandola M. Bardelli S. Peletto P. L. Acutis A. Mannelli C. Casalone |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Piemonte, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, Turin, Italy;2. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy;3. Azienda Sanitaria Locale of Omegna, Verbania, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Following reports of human cases of Lyme borreliosis from the Ossola Valley, a mountainous area of Piemonte, north‐western Italy, the abundance and altitudinal distribution of ticks, and infection of these vectors with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were evaluated. A total of 1662 host‐seeking Ixodes ricinus were collected by dragging from April to September 2011 at locations between 400 and 1450 m above sea level. Additional 104 I. ricinus were collected from 35 hunted wild animals (4 chamois, 8 roe deer, 23 red deer). Tick density, expressed as the number of ticks per 100 m2, resulted highly variable among different areas, ranging from 0 to 105 larvae and from 0 to 22 nymphs. A sample of 352 ticks (327 from dragging and 25 from wild animals) was screened by a PCR assay targeting a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of B. burgdorferi s.l. Positive samples were confirmed with a PCR assay specific for the 5S‐23S rRNA intergenic spacer region and sequenced. Four genospecies were found: B. afzelii (prevalence 4.0%), B. lusitaniae (4.0%), B. garinii (1.5%) and B. valaisiana (0.3%). Phylogenetic analysis based on the ospC gene showed that most of the Borrelia strains from pathogenic genospecies had the potential for human infection and for invasion of secondary body sites. |
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| Keywords: | Acarologic risk Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato
Ixodes ricinus
tick zoonosis |
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