HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Toledo, A. Articles by Anda, P. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Toledo, A. Articles by Anda, P.

Tick-Borne Zoonotic Bacteria in Ticks Collected from Central Spain

The prevalence of tick-borne and related bacteria infecting adult ticks in central Spain was assessed by molecular methods. Six areas were sampled monthly during a 2-year longitudinal study. A total of 1,038 questing and 442 feeding ticks, belonging to eight different species, were tested. The most abundant species were Hyalomma lusitanicum (54% of captures), followed by Dermacentor marginatus (23%) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (10%). Four human pathogens, including seven Rickettsia species, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Francisella tularensis, were detected at percentages of 19.0, 2.2, 1.7, and 0.5, respectively, whereas Bartonella spp. was never detected. In terms of infection and tick abundance, H. lusitanicum seems to be the most significant tick species in the area, carrying three of the five agents tested, and the anthropophilic tick, D. marginatum, infected with Rickettsia spp. and F. tularensis, is the most relevant in terms of public health. The significance of these data is discussed.

Received October 14, 2008. Accepted for publication March 13, 2009.

Acknowledgments: We thank Isabel Rodríguez-Moreno, Manuela Rodríguez-Vargas, and Cristina García-Amil for excellent technical support and Frank M. Hodgkins for reviewing the English version of this manuscript.

Financial support: Á.T. was supported by a fellowship from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) PI051374. This work was also supported by FIS PI050901, INIA FAU2006-00002-C04-04, and EU Grant GOCE-2003-010284 EDEN and is catalogued by EDEN Steering Committee as EDEN0126 (www.eden-fp6project.net).

Disclaimer: The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

^* Address correspondence to Pedro Anda, Laboratorio de Espi-roquetas y Patógenos Especiales, Servicio de Bacteriología, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28220-Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain. E-mail: panda{at}isciii.es

Authors’ addresses: Álvaro Toledo, Raquel Escudero, Isabel Jado, Horacio Gil, and Pedro Anda, Laboratorio de Espiroquetas y Patógenos Especiales, Servicio de Bacteriología, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain, E-mail: panda{at}isciii.es. Álvaro Toledo, A. Sonia Olmeda, and Miguel A. Casado-Nistal, Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro, S/N 28040 Madrid, Spain. Félix Varcárcel, Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Alfonso X "El Sabio," Avda. de la Universidad, 1, 28691-Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain.