RT Journal Article
T1 Molecular identification of Borrelia spirochetes in questing Ixodes ricinus from northwestern Spain
A1 Díaz Fernández, Pablo
A1 Arnal, Jose Luis
A1 Remesar Alonso, Susana
A1 Pérez-Creo, Ana
A1 Venzal, José Manuel
A1 Vázquez López, María Esther
A1 Prieto Lago, Alberto
A1 Fernández Rodríguez, Gonzalo
A1 López Sández, Ceferino Manuel
A1 Panadero Fontán, Rosario
A1 Benito, Alfredo
A1 Díez Baños, Pablo
A1 Morrondo Pelayo, María Patrocinio
K1 Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.)
K1 Borrelia miyamotoi
K1 Ixodes ricinus
K1 NW Spain
AB Background:Ixodes ricinus, the predominant tick species in Europe, can transmit the causative agents of important human diseases such as Lyme borreliosis (LB), caused by Borrelia spirochetes. In northern Spain, LB is considered endemic; recently, a significant increase of the annual incidence of LB was reported in the northwestern (NW) region.Methods:In order to provide information on the prevalence of Borrelia spp., pooled and individually free-living I. ricinus from NW Spain were molecularly analyzed. Positive samples were characterized at the fla and Glpq genes and the rrfA-rrlB intergenic spacer region to identify Borrelia species/genospecies.Results:Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) (s.l.) individual prevalence and MIR were significantly higher in adult females (32.3 and 16%) than in nymphs (18.8 and 6.2%) and adult males (15.6 and 8.4%). Five Borrelia genospecies belonging to the B. burgdorferi (s.l.) group were identified: B. garinii was predominant, followed by B. valaisiana, B. lusitaniae, B. afzelii and B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto) (s.s.). One species belonging to the tick-borne relapsing fever group (B. miyamotoi) was also found, showing low individual prevalence (1%), positive pool (0.7%) and MIR (0.1%) values. To our knowledge, this is the first citation of B. miyamotoi in free-living ticks from Spain.Conclusions:The significant prevalences of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) genospecies detected in questing ticks from NW Spain are similar to those detected in northern and central European countries and higher to those previously found in Spain. These results together with the high incidence of LB in humans and the high seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) in roe deer shown in other studies reveal that the northwest area is one of the most risky regions for acquiring LB in Spain
PB BioMed Central
SN 1756-3305
YR 2017
FD 2017-12-20
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/17638
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/17638
LA eng
NO Díaz, P., Arnal, J., Remesar, S., Pérez-Creo, A., Venzal, J., & Vázquez-López, M. et al. (2017). Molecular identification of Borrelia spirochetes in questing Ixodes ricinus from northwestern Spain. Parasites & Vectors, 10(1). doi: 10.1186/s13071-017-2574-x
NO This research was supported by a postdoctoral research grant (Banco de Santander, Spain) to PD and a predoctoral research grant (Xunta de Galicia, Spain) to SR and funds from the Program for consolidating and structuring competitive research groups (GRC2015/003, Xunta de Galicia, Spain)
DS Minerva
RD 30 abr 2026