Co-infection of anaplasma phagocytophilum with other zoonotic pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks in the Netherlands

Abstract

During this three month study, adult Ixodes ricinus ticks were randomly selected from the Tickbusters survey of 2015 in the Netherlands. This Tickbusters survey which started in 2005 after an outbreak of 23 cases of canine babesiosis in 2004 and resulted in the discovery of the first Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the Netherlands. Selected ticks were subjected to PCR and RLB hybridization to determine the infection rate with Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The ticks were also tested for other pathogens found in the Netherlands: Borrelia spp, Babesia spp, Ehrlichia spp, Theileria spp and Rickettsia spp. Fifty-four (54) I. ricinus ticks of the 220 ticks tested positive for one of more pathogens; one tick was infected with A. phagocytophilum (0.45%) and 28 (12.73%) ticks were found positive for Borrelia spp. A total of thirteen co-infections were detected, whereas in this study co-infections with A. phagocytophilum were not found.