Jaenson, T.G.T. and Wilhelmsson, P.
First records of tick-borne pathogens in populations of the taiga tick Ixodes persulcatus in Sweden
Parasit. Vectors 2019, 12: 559
The taiga tick Ixodes persulcatus, which is the main vector for the Siberian and Far Eastern subtypes of TBE virus, has recently been detected in the northern parts of Sweden. Now, a detailed analysis about pathogens in taiga ticks collected in the Bothnian Bay area, province Norrbotten, northern Sweden (close to the Finnish border), has been carried out. A total of 276 I. persulcatus ticks, mostly adult ticks, were collected by dragging or were isolated from dogs. 55% of these ticks were found positive for Borrelia and three species were identified: B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. valaisiana. One female tick contained Rickettsia helvetica and one nymph Rickettsia sp. All ticks were negative for Anaplasma phagocytophilium, Babesia spp., Borrelia miyamotoi, Neoehrlichia mikurensis and TBE virus. The tick I. persulcatus is emerging from Russia to the Baltic States, to Finland and Sweden (a fatal TBE case caused by the Siberian subtype has e.g. been reported in Finland, see Newsletter May 2018). The analyses presented here show that this tick species can harbor a variety of pathogens and the examined tick population from northern Sweden had a high prevalence of Borrelia afzelii and B. garinii.