Multiple Infections Spread by Ticks (Premium)
Note: This article is technical. Many Latitudes.org readers are concerned about Lyme and related infections that can have severe consequences and are notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat.
A September 2019 journal article explores different infectious agents that can be carried by three species of ticks found in Long Island, New York.
Tick-borne diseases have doubled in the last 12 years, and their geographic distribution has spread as well. The clinical spectrum of tick-borne diseases can range from asymptomatic to fatal infections, with a disproportionate incidence in children and the elderly.
[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’Premium Article Guest Message’ user_error=’Premium Article Basic Message’ ]
In the last few years, new agents have been discovered, and genetic changes have boosted the spread of pathogens and ticks. Polymicrobial infections, mostly in Ixodes scapularis, can complicate diagnostics and augment disease severity.
Amblyomma americanum ticks have expanded their range, resulting in a dynamic and complex situation, possibly fueled by climate change.
To document these changes, using molecular biology strategies for pathogen detection, an assessment of 12 microbes in three species of ticks was done in Suffolk County, New York. At least one agent was detected in 63% of I. scapularis ticks.
Borrelia burgdorferi was the most prevalent pathogen (57% in adults; 27% in nymphs), followed by Babesia microti (14% in adults; 15% in nymphs), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (14% in adults; 2% in nymphs), Borrelia miyamotoi (3% in adults), and Powassan virus (2% in adults).
Polymicrobial, multiple, infections were detected in 22% of I. scapularis ticks, with coinfections of B. burgdorferi and B. microti (9%) and of B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum (7%).
Three Ehrlichia species were detected in 4% of A. americanum ticks. The rickettsiae constituted the largest prokaryotic biomass of all the ticks tested and included Rickettsia amblyommatis, Rickettsia buchneri, and Rickettsia montanensis. The high rates of polymicrobial infection in ticks present an opportunity to study the biological interrelationships of pathogens and their vectors.
Read the full scientific article here
[/am4show]
