AUTHOR=Michelet Lorraine , Delannoy Sabine , Devillers Elodie , Umhang Gérald , Aspan Anna , Juremalm Mikael , Chirico Jan , van der Wal Fimme J. , Sprong Hein , Boye Pihl Thomas P. , Klitgaard Kirstine , Bødker Rene , Fach Patrick , Moutailler Sara 

TITLE=High-throughput screening of tick-borne pathogens in Europe

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2014.00103

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2014.00103

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Due to increased travel, climatic, and environmental changes, the incidence of tick-borne disease in both humans and animals is increasing throughout Europe. Therefore, extended surveillance tools are desirable. To accurately screen tick-borne pathogens (TBPs), a large scale epidemiological study was conducted on 7050 <italic>Ixodes ricinus</italic> nymphs collected from France, Denmark, and the Netherlands using a powerful new high-throughput approach. This advanced methodology permitted the simultaneous detection of 25 bacterial, and 12 parasitic species (including; <italic>Borrelia</italic>, <italic>Anaplasma</italic>, <italic>Ehrlichia</italic>, <italic>Rickettsia</italic>, <italic>Bartonella</italic>, <italic>Candidatus</italic> Neoehrlichia, <italic>Coxiella</italic>, <italic>Francisella</italic>, <italic>Babesia</italic>, and <italic>Theileria</italic> genus) across 94 samples. We successfully determined the prevalence of expected (<italic>Borrelia burgdorferi</italic> sensu lato, <italic>Anaplasma phagocytophilum</italic>, <italic>Rickettsia helvetica</italic>, <italic>Candidatus</italic> Neoehrlichia mikurensis, <italic>Babesia divergens</italic>, <italic>Babesia venatorum</italic>), unexpected (<italic>Borrelia miyamotoi</italic>), and rare (<italic>Bartonella henselae</italic>) pathogens in the three European countries. Moreover we detected <italic>Borrelia spielmanii</italic>, <italic>Borrelia miyamotoi</italic>, <italic>Babesia divergens</italic>, and <italic>Babesia venatorum</italic> for the first time in Danish ticks. This surveillance method represents a major improvement in epidemiological studies, able to facilitate comprehensive testing of TBPs, and which can also be customized to monitor emerging diseases.</p>