Occurrence of tick-borne pathogens in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from Wester Ross, Northwest Scotland

Abstract

The primary public health concerns are Lyme borreliosis, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) infection, and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), both of which have increased in incidence in several European countries in recent decades [3,4,5,6,7]. [...]soon after becoming aware of the presence of B. miyamotoi and TBE virus in questing ticks in the Netherlands, local health professionals identified the first cases of hard tick-borne relapsing fever and TBE in human patients and could thus administer appropriate treatment [12, 13]. Many visitors engage in recreational outdoor activities that have potentially high exposure to ticks. [...]woodland expansion is being actively encouraged by government policies and supporting subsidies, and this is resulting in land cover changes [16] with potential consequences for the populations of ticks, their hosts, and hence the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens. To minimise contamination and false-positive samples, the DNA extraction, PCR mix preparation, sample addition, and qPCR analyses were performed in separate air-locked dedicated labs. We could not test for the presence of tick-borne viruses such as TBE virus and Louping ill virus, as this would have required a