Heterogeneity in the abundance and distribution of Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) in Scotland: implications for risk prediction (original) (raw)
2016, Parasites & vectors
Cases of Lyme borreliosis, a vector-borne zoonosis caused by bacteria in the Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) species group, have increased in recent years in Europe. Knowledge of environmental factors associated with abundance of the tick vector Ixodes ricinus and the pathogen B. burgdorferi (s.l.) is of interest to understand responses to environmental changes, predict variation in risk and to inform management interventions. Nineteen woodland sites across Scotland were surveyed in 2012 for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) infection in questing I. ricinus nymphs (n = 200 per site), deer abundance and vegetation. Climatic factors were extracted for each site. Six additional sites were surveyed for questing nymphs in both 2012 and 2013 (n = 200 per site and year) to test for variation in B. burgdorferi (s.l.) prevalence between years. The mean prevalence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) across 19 sites was 1.7% (95% CI: 1.4-2.2%; range 0-6%), all four genospecies known to be present in the UK were de...
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