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Microorganisms
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Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research
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Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 13994

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Franc Strle

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: Lyme borreliosis; tick-borne encephalitis; human granulocytic anaplasmosis; host-pathogen interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Gerold Stanek

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Medical University of Vienna, Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Vienna, Austria
Interests: Lyme borreliosis; arthropode-borne pathogens; tick-Borne diseases; host-pathogen interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new Topical Collection entitled “Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research”. This Topical Collection aims to gather up-to-date reviews and recent original research findings in TBD, including ecology, epidemiology, etiologic agents, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, outcome, and prevention. We consider that this collection will be the best forum for disseminating excellent research findings as well as sharing innovative ideas in the field.

You are welcome to send a tentative title and a short abstract to our Editorial Office (microorganisms@mdpi.com) for evaluation before submission. Please note that selected full papers will still be subjected to a thorough and rigorous peer review.

We look forward to receiving your excellent work.

Prof. Dr. Franc Strle
Prof. Dr. Gerold Stanek
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tick-borne diseases
  • Lyme borreliosis
  • ecology infection
  • pathogenesis
  • epidemiology
  • diagnosis
  • treatment
  • prevention

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 978 KiB  
Article
Co-Infection of Potential Tick-Borne Pathogens of the Order Rickettsiales and Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. and Their Link to Season and Area in Germany
by Angeline Hoffmann, Thomas Müller, Volker Fingerle, Cornelia Silaghi and Matthias Noll
Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11010157 - 07 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1555
Abstract
The prevalence of potential human pathogenic members of the order Rickettsiales differs between Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-positive and -negative tick microbiomes. Here, co-infection of members of the order Rickettsiales, such as Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Wolbachia pipientis, and Neoehrlichia mikurensis as [...] Read more.
The prevalence of potential human pathogenic members of the order Rickettsiales differs between Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-positive and -negative tick microbiomes. Here, co-infection of members of the order Rickettsiales, such as Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Wolbachia pipientis, and Neoehrlichia mikurensis as well as B. burgdorferi s.l. in the tick microbiome was addressed. This study used conventional PCRs to investigate the diversity and prevalence of the before-mentioned bacteria in 760 nucleic acid extracts of I. ricinus ticks detached from humans, which were previously tested for B. burgdorferi s.l.. A gltA gene-based amplicon sequencing approach was performed to identify Rickettsia species. The prevalence of Rickettsia spp. (16.7%, n = 127) and W. pipientis (15.9%, n = 121) were similar, while A. phagocytophilum was found in 2.8% (n = 21) and N. mikurensis in 0.1% (n = 1) of all ticks. Co-infection of B. burgdorferi s. l. with Rickettsia spp. was most frequent. The gltA gene sequencing indicated that Rickettsia helvetica was the dominant Rickettsia species in tick microbiomes. Moreover, R, monacensis and R. raoultii were correlated with autumn and area south, respectively, and a negative B. burgdorferi s. l. finding. Almost every fifth tick carried DNA of at least two of the human pathogenic bacteria studied here. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research)
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16 pages, 2479 KiB  
Article
New Cell Lines Derived from European Tick Species
by Lesley Bell-Sakyi, Catherine S. Hartley, Jing Jing Khoo, Jan Hendrik Forth, Ana M. Palomar and Benjamin L. Makepeace
Microorganisms 2022, 10(6), 1086; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10061086 - 25 May 2022
Viewed by 2664
Abstract
Tick cell lines are important tools for research on ticks and the pathogens they transmit. Here, we report the establishment of ten new cell lines from European ticks of the genera Argas, Dermacentor, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus originating from Germany [...] Read more.
Tick cell lines are important tools for research on ticks and the pathogens they transmit. Here, we report the establishment of ten new cell lines from European ticks of the genera Argas, Dermacentor, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus originating from Germany and Spain. For each cell line, the method used to generate the primary culture, a morphological description of the cells and species confirmation by sequencing of the partial 16S rRNA gene are presented. Further molecular analysis of the two new Ixodes ricinus cell lines and three existing cell lines of the same species revealed genetic variation between cell lines derived from ticks collected in the same or nearby locations. Collectively, these new cell lines will support research into a wide range of viral, bacterial and protozoal tick-borne diseases prevalent in Europe. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research)
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11 pages, 972 KiB  
Article
One Health Approach to Rickettsiosis: A Five-Year Study on Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae in Ticks Collected from Humans, Animals and Environment
by Ilaria Pascucci, Elisa Antognini, Cristina Canonico, Marco Giuseppe Montalbano, Alessandro Necci, Alessandra di Donato, Martina Moriconi, Benedetto Morandi, Giulia Morganti, Silvia Crotti and Stefano Gavaudan
Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10010035 - 25 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2705
Abstract
The spotted fever group of Rickettsiae is a heterogeneous group of Rickettsiae transmitted by ticks, causing similar diseases in humans (spotted fever). Until recently, it was supposed that a single pathogenic tick-borne SFG Rickettsia circulated in each different geographic area and that R. [...] Read more.
The spotted fever group of Rickettsiae is a heterogeneous group of Rickettsiae transmitted by ticks, causing similar diseases in humans (spotted fever). Until recently, it was supposed that a single pathogenic tick-borne SFG Rickettsia circulated in each different geographic area and that R. conorii subsp. conorii was the SFG Rickettsiae circulating in Italy, but in the last decade, thanks to molecular diagnostic, several different Rickettsia species, previously not considered pathogenic for decades, have been isolated from ticks and definitively associated to human disease, also in Italy. The present survey was carried out with the aim of investigating the presence of different SFG Rickettsia species in a geographic area where no information was available. Ticks collected from animals submitted to necropsy, removed from humans in local hospitals and collected from the environment were identified and tested by PCR for Rickettsia spp. based on the gltA gene, and positive PCR products were sequenced. A total of 3286 ticks were collected. Fifteen tick species were recognized, the most represented (79.52%) species in the collection was Ixodes ricinus, followed by Rhipicephalus sanguineus (9.13%). The overall prevalence of Rickettsia infection was 7.58%. Eight species of Rickettsia were identified, the most frequent was R. monacensis (56%), followed by R. helvetica (25.50%). Noteworthy, is the detection in the present study of Rrhipicephali, detected only twice in Italy. These are the first data available on SFG Rickettsiae circulation in the study area and they can be considered as starting point to assess the possible risk for humans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research)
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11 pages, 1054 KiB  
Article
Detection of Mycoplasma agalactiae in Ticks (Rhipicephalus bursa) Collected by Sheep and Goats in Sicily (South-Italy), Endemic Area for Contagious Agalactia
by Paola Galluzzo, Sergio Migliore, Roberto Puleio, Lucia Galuppo, Francesco La Russa, Valeria Blanda, Serena Tumino, Alessandra Torina, Anne Ridley and Guido R. Loria
Microorganisms 2021, 9(11), 2312; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112312 - 08 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2552
Abstract
The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the presence of Mycoplasma agalactiae (Ma) or other Contagious Agalactia (CA) causative organisms, in hard ticks infesting milking sheep and goats in endemic areas for CA in Sicily (South-Italy). Although there is [...] Read more.
The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the presence of Mycoplasma agalactiae (Ma) or other Contagious Agalactia (CA) causative organisms, in hard ticks infesting milking sheep and goats in endemic areas for CA in Sicily (South-Italy). Although there is accumulating evidence to support the role of ticks in the transmission of blood-borne haemoplasmas, information regarding their role in the transmission of CA, remains scarce. Ticks (n = 152) were collected from 25 lactating sheep and goats from three farms with previous outbreaks of CA. Microbiological and biomolecular, as well as serological analysis were performed on milk, tick, and serum samples, respectively. Rhipicephalus bursa species predominated, comprising 84.8% of the sampled ticks. Mycoplasma-like colonies were isolated from 5/56 (8.9%) tick pools and were identified as Ma by specific PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Unexpectedly, the organism was isolated from R. bursa ticks recovered only from animals whose milk tested negative for the pathogen. This preliminary demonstration suggests the potential role for ticks to act as a reservoir for the organisms, with potential involvement in the spread and maintenance of CA. Further work is required to determine the location of the organisms within the body of the ticks and to assess transmission potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research)
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Review

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13 pages, 634 KiB  
Review
Sleep-Wake and Circadian Disorders after Tick-Borne Encephalitis
by Gabriele Chiffi, Denis Grandgirard, Parham Sendi, Anelia Dietmann, Claudio L. A. Bassetti and Stephen L. Leib
Microorganisms 2022, 10(2), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020304 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2894
Abstract
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infectious disease affecting the central nervous system. Recently, the occurrence of TBEV infections has steadily increased, reaching all-time high incidence rates in European countries. Up to 50% of patients with TBE present neurological sequelae, among them sleep–wake and [...] Read more.
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infectious disease affecting the central nervous system. Recently, the occurrence of TBEV infections has steadily increased, reaching all-time high incidence rates in European countries. Up to 50% of patients with TBE present neurological sequelae, among them sleep–wake and circadian disorders (SWCD), which are poorly characterized. The aim of this review is to investigate the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of SWCD after TBE. The literature review was performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The quality of the paper was assessed using a standardized quality assessment. The analysis of SWCD was categorized into four different time intervals and two age groups. The literature search identified 15 studies, five including children and 10 including adults. In children, fatigue was most frequently observed with a prevalence of 73.9%, followed by somnolence/sleepiness, restlessness, and sleep-wake inversion. In adults, tiredness/fatigue was the most reported sequela with a prevalence of 27.4%, followed by extensive daytime sleepiness/somnolence, and insomnia (3.3%). Two studies showed impaired social outcomes in patients after TBE infections. SWCD after TBE in children and adults is a newly recognized sequela. Additional clinical and experimental research is needed to gain more precise insight into the clinical burden of SWCD after TBE and the underlying mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Tick-Borne Diseases Research)
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