Abstract
A total of 305 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from three areas of Thuringia in central Germany were investigated for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species and Anaplasma phagocytophila. Overall, 11.1% were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and 2.3% with Anaplasma phagocytophila. Adult ticks showed a significantly higher rate of infection with both borreliae and Anaplasma phagocytophila. Borrelia garinii (55.9%) was detected most frequently, followed by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (32.4%), Borrelia afzelii (17.6%), and Borrelia valaisiana (5.9%). Four ticks had dual infection with Borrelia garinii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. Two of the Borrelia-positive ticks were coinfected with Anaplasma phagocytophila.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to B. Steil and C. Flügel (Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Jena) for supporting the tick collection, C. Hizo-Teufel (Max-von-Pettenkofer-Institute, Munich) for excellent technical advice, U. Munderloh (College of Agriculture, University of Minnesota, USA) for providing a sample of Ehrlichia DNA, and G. Gaschler (Institute of Medical Microbiology, Jena) for valuable advice. K.H.S. was supported by grant no. B307-01022 of the Thüringer Forschungsministerium (TMWFK) and V.F. by the Robert-Koch-Institut, grant no. ZV2-1369-338.
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Hildebrandt, A., Schmidt, K.H., Wilske, B. et al. Prevalence of Four Species of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato and Coinfection with Anaplasma phagocytophila in Ixodes ricinus Ticks in Central Germany. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 22, 364–367 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-003-0926-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-003-0926-2