English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Background  Babesiosis is an emerging and potentially zoonotic disease caused by tick-borne piroplasmids of the  Babesia  genus. New genetic variants of piroplasmids with unknown associations to vectors and hosts are recognized. Data on the occurrence of  Babesia  spp. in ticks and wildlife widen the knowledge on the geographical distribution and circulation of piroplasmids in natural foci. Questing and rodent-attached ticks, rodents, and birds were screened for the presence of  Babesia -specific DNA using molecular methods. Spatial and temporal differences of  Babesia  spp. prevalence in ticks and rodents from two contrasting habitats of Slovakia with sympatric occurrence of  Ixodes ricinus  and  Haemaphysalis concinna  ticks and co-infections of  Candidatus  N. mikurensis and  Anaplasma phagocytophilum  were investigated.    Results   Babesia  spp. were detected in 1.5 % and 6.6 % of questing  I. ricinus  and  H. concinna , respectively. Prevalence of  Babesia -infected  I. ricinus  was higher in a natural than an urban/suburban habitat. Phylogenetic analysis showed that  Babesia  spp. from  I. ricinus  clustered with  Babesia microti ,  Babesia venatorum ,  Babesia canis, Babesia capreoli/Babesia divergens,  and  Babesia odocoilei. Babesia  spp. amplified from  H. concinna  segregated into two monophyletic clades, designated  Babesia  sp. 1 (Eurasia) and  Babesia  sp. 2 (Eurasia), each of which represents a yet undescribed novel species. The prevalence of infection in rodents (with  Apodemus flavicollis  and  Myodes glareolus  prevailing) with  B. microti  was 1.3 % in an urban/suburban and 4.2 % in a natural habitat. The majority of infected rodents (81.3 %) were positive for spleen and blood and the remaining for lungs and/or skin. Rodent-attached  I. ricinus  (accounting for 96.3 %) and  H. concinna  were infected with  B. microti, B. venatorum, B. capreoli/B. divergens ,  Babesia  sp. 1 (Eurasia), and  Babesia  sp. 2 (Eurasia). All  B. microti  and  B. venatorum  isolates were identical to known zoonotic strains from Europe. Less than 1.0 % of  Babesia -positive ticks and rodents carried  Candidatus  N. mikurensis or  A. phagocytophilum .    Conclusion  Our findings suggest that  I. ricinus  and rodents play important roles in the epidemiology of zoonotic  Babesia  spp. in south-western Slovakia. Associations with vertebrate hosts and the pathogenicity of  Babesia  spp. infecting  H. concinna  ticks need to be further explored.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1560-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Babesia spp. in ticks and wildlife in different habitat types of Slovakia