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Bakker JW, Münger E, Esser HJ, Sikkema RS, de Boer WF, Sprong H, Reusken CBEM, de Vries A, Kohl R, van der Linden A, Stroo A, van der Jeugd H, Pijlman GP, Koopmans MPG, Munnink BBO, Koenraadt CJM. Ixodes ricinus as potential vector for Usutu virus. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0012172. [PMID: 38985837 PMCID: PMC11236205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Usutu virus (USUV) is an emerging flavivirus that is maintained in an enzootic cycle with mosquitoes as vectors and birds as amplifying hosts. In Europe, the virus has caused mass mortality of wild birds, mainly among Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) populations. While mosquitoes are the primary vectors for USUV, Common Blackbirds and other avian species are exposed to other arthropod ectoparasites, such as ticks. It is unknown, however, if ticks can maintain and transmit USUV. We addressed this question using in vitro and in vivo experiments and field collected data. USUV replicated in IRE/CTVM19 Ixodes ricinus tick cells and in injected ticks. Moreover, I. ricinus nymphs acquired the virus via artificial membrane blood-feeding and maintained the virus for at least 70 days. Transstadial transmission of USUV from nymphs to adults was confirmed in 4.9% of the ticks. USUV disseminated from the midgut to the haemocoel, and was transmitted via the saliva of the tick during artificial membrane blood-feeding. We further explored the role of ticks by monitoring USUV in questing ticks and in ticks feeding on wild birds in the Netherlands between 2016 and 2019. In total, 622 wild birds and the Ixodes ticks they carried were tested for USUV RNA. Of these birds, 48 (7.7%) carried USUV-positive ticks. The presence of negative-sense USUV RNA in ticks, as confirmed via small RNA-sequencing, showed active virus replication. In contrast, we did not detect USUV in 15,381 questing ticks collected in 2017 and 2019. We conclude that I. ricinus can be infected with USUV and can transstadially and horizontally transmit USUV. However, in comparison to mosquito-borne transmission, the role of I. ricinus ticks in the epidemiology of USUV is expected to be minor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian W Bakker
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Helen J Esser
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Reina S Sikkema
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Vogeltrekstation, Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography, NIOO-KNAW, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Willem F de Boer
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Hein Sprong
- National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Chantal B E M Reusken
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ankje de Vries
- National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Robert Kohl
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Arjan Stroo
- Centre for Monitoring of Vectors, Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Henk van der Jeugd
- Vogeltrekstation, Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography, NIOO-KNAW, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Gorben P Pijlman
- Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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Fedorov D, Hornok S. Checklist of hosts, illustrated geographical range, and ecology of tick species from the genus Ixodes (Acari, Ixodidae) in Russia and other post-Soviet countries. Zookeys 2024; 1201:255-343. [PMID: 38779584 PMCID: PMC11109513 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1201.115467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are the economically and ecologically most important blood-sucking arthropod vectors that can transmit disease agents under temperate climate. In this group, the highest number of species (currently nearing 270) belongs to the genus Ixodes. For this review, more than 400 papers related to this genus in the context of Russia were checked for data on the host records, locations of collection, as well as ecology of assigned tick species. This monograph compensates for the lack of a similarly comprehensive English-language overview of Ixodes species in the region of Russia for nearly half century, and also makes a large set of data easily available for international readers, which is especially important if the original source is difficult to access from outside this country. In addition, the data from a significant number of papers on this topic available only in the Russian language are made accessible through this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Fedorov
- HUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-sucking Parasites and Vector-borne Pathogens Research Group, Budapest, HungaryHUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-sucking Parasites and Vector-borne Pathogens Research GroupBudapestHungary
- Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ZIN-RAS), St. Petersburg, RussiaZoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ZIN-RAS)St. PetersburgRussia
| | - Sándor Hornok
- HUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-sucking Parasites and Vector-borne Pathogens Research Group, Budapest, HungaryHUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-sucking Parasites and Vector-borne Pathogens Research GroupBudapestHungary
- Department of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, HungaryUniversity of Veterinary MedicineBudapestHungary
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Korobitsyn IG, Moskvitina NS, Tyutenkov OY, Gashkov SI, Kononova YV, Moskvitin SS, Romanenko VN, Mikryukova TP, Protopopova EV, Kartashov MY, Chausov EV, Konovalova SN, Tupota NL, Sementsova AO, Ternovoi VA, Loktev VB. Detection of tick-borne pathogens in wild birds and their ticks in Western Siberia and high level of their mismatch. Folia Parasitol (Praha) 2021; 68. [PMID: 34825655 DOI: 10.14411/fp.2021.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The Tomsk region located in the south of Western Siberia is one of the most high-risk areas for tick-borne diseases due to elevated incidence of tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease in humans. Wild birds may be considered as one of the reservoirs for tick-borne pathogens and hosts for infected ticks. A high mobility of wild birds leads to unpredictable possibilities for the dissemination of tick-borne pathogens into new geographical regions. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in wild birds and ticks that feed on them as well as to determine the role of different species of birds in maintaining the tick-borne infectious foci. We analysed the samples of 443 wild birds (60 species) and 378 ticks belonging to the genus Ixodes Latraille, 1795 collected from the wild birds, for detecting occurrence of eight tick-borne pathogens, the namely tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), West Nile virus (WNV), and species of Borrelia, Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Bartonella and Babesia Starcovici, 1893, using RT-PCR/or PCR and enzyme immunoassay. One or more tick-borne infection markers were detected in 43 species of birds. All markers were detected in samples collected from fieldfare Turdus pilaris Linnaeus, Blyth's reed warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum Blyth, common redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus (Linnaeus), and common chaffinch Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus. Although all pathogens have been identified in birds and ticks, we found that in the majority of cases (75.5 %), there were mismatches of pathogens in birds and ticks collected from them. Wild birds and their ticks may play an extremely important role in the dissemination of tick-borne pathogens into different geographical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Yulia V Kononova
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | | | | | - Tamara P Mikryukova
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Elena V Protopopova
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Mikhail Yu Kartashov
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Eugene V Chausov
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Svetlana N Konovalova
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Natalia L Tupota
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Alexandra O Sementsova
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Vladimir A Ternovoi
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
| | - Valery B Loktev
- State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology 'Vector', World-Class Genomic Research Center for Biological Safety and Technological Independence, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Region, Russia
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Makenov M, Karan L, Shashina N, Akhmetshina M, Zhurenkova O, Kholodilov I, Karganova G, Smirnova N, Grigoreva Y, Yankovskaya Y, Fyodorova M. First detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus in Ixodes ricinus ticks and their rodent hosts in Moscow, Russia. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2019; 10:101265. [PMID: 31447316 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.101265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Here, we report the first confirmed autochthonous tick-borne encephalitis case diagnosed in Moscow in 2016 and describe the detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in ticks and small mammals in a Moscow park. The paper includes data from two patients who were bitten by TBEV-infected ticks in Moscow city; one of these cases led to the development of the meningeal form of TBE. Both TBEV-infected ticks attacked patients in the same area. We collected ticks and trapped small mammals in this area in 2017. All samples were screened for the presence of pathogens causing tick-borne diseases by PCR. The TBEV-positive ticks and small mammals' tissue samples were subjected to virus isolation. The sequencing of the complete polyprotein gene of the positive samples was performed. A total of 227 questing ticks were collected. TBEV was detected in five specimens of Ixodes ricinus. We trapped 44 small mammals, mainly bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and pygmy field mice (Apodemus uralensis). Two samples of brain tissue from bank voles yielded a positive signal in RT-PCR for TBEV. We obtained six virus isolates from the ticks and brain tissue of a bank vole. Complete genome sequencing showed that the obtained isolates belong to the European subtype and have low diversity with sequence identities as high as 99.9%. GPS tracking showed that the maximum distance between the exact locations where the TBEV-positive ticks were collected was 185 m. We assume that the forest park had been free of TBEV and that the virus was recently introduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marat Makenov
- Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Novogireevskaya st 3-A, 415, Moscow, 111123, Russia.
| | - Lyudmila Karan
- Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Novogireevskaya st 3-A, 415, Moscow, 111123, Russia
| | - Natalia Shashina
- Sсiеntifiс Rеsеarсh Disinfесtology Institutе, Nauchniy proezd st. 18, Moscow, 117246, Russia
| | - Marina Akhmetshina
- Sсiеntifiс Rеsеarсh Disinfесtology Institutе, Nauchniy proezd st. 18, Moscow, 117246, Russia
| | - Olga Zhurenkova
- Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Novogireevskaya st 3-A, 415, Moscow, 111123, Russia
| | - Ivan Kholodilov
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides (FSBSI "Chumakov FSC R&D IBP RAS), prem. 8, k.17, pos. Institut Poliomyelita, poselenie Moskovskiy, Moscow, 108819, Russia
| | - Galina Karganova
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides (FSBSI "Chumakov FSC R&D IBP RAS), prem. 8, k.17, pos. Institut Poliomyelita, poselenie Moskovskiy, Moscow, 108819, Russia; Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology, Sechenov University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya st, 2, page 4, room 106, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Nina Smirnova
- Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Novogireevskaya st 3-A, 415, Moscow, 111123, Russia; Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory st. 1-12, MSU, Faculty of Biology, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - Yana Grigoreva
- Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Novogireevskaya st 3-A, 415, Moscow, 111123, Russia
| | - Yanina Yankovskaya
- Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ostrovityanova st. 1, Moscow, 117997, Russia
| | - Marina Fyodorova
- Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Novogireevskaya st 3-A, 415, Moscow, 111123, Russia
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