The spectrum of ixodid ticks that bite humans in Western Siberia has significantly changed over the past two decades. In this study, we determined tick species attacking people in the vicinity of Novosibirsk and the range of bacterial agents they were infected with.
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The spectrum of ixodid ticks that bite humans in Western Siberia has significantly changed over the past two decades. In this study, we determined tick species attacking people in the vicinity of Novosibirsk and the range of bacterial agents they were infected with. This study included 301 ticks taken from people and 46% were
Ixodes pavlovskyi, followed by
Ixodes persulcatus (19.6%),
I. persulcatus/
I. pavlovskyi interspecies hybrids (19.6%),
Dermacentor reticulatus (12.8%), and single
Dermacentor marginatus and
Dermacentor nuttalli/
Dermacentor silvarum. Human DNA was determined in ticks, first demonstrating that all
Ixodes spp., including hybrids, can effectively feed on humans. The DNA of
Borrelia spp.,
Rickettsia spp., and Anaplasmataceae bacteria was detected in different tick species.
Borrelia garinii prevailed in
Ixodes species, being found in 8.8% of ticks, whereas
B. afzelii and
B. bavariensis were found in single ticks.
Borrelia miyamotoi was revealed in 3.7% of ticks. “
Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae” and
R. raoultii were identified mainly in
I. persulcatus and
D. reticulatus (44.8% and 26.3%, respectively), while
Rickettsia helvetica was found only in 2.2%
I. pavlovskyi. The prevalence of
Anaplasma phagocytophilum,
Ehrlichia muris, and
Neoehrlichia mikurensis did not exceed 2%. The obtained results indicate a high risk for humans to be infected with agents of Lyme borreliosis, primarily
B. garinii.
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