| 1. |
- Andersson, Martin O., et al.
(författare)
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Babesia, Theileria, and Hepatozoon species in ticks infesting animal hosts in Romania
- 2017
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Ingår i: Parasitology Research. - : Springer. - 0932-0113 .- 1432-1955. ; 116:8, s. 2291-2297
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Babesia spp., Theileria spp., and Hepatozoon spp. are tick-transmitted apicomplexan parasites that cause several important diseases in animals. To increase current knowledge about the diversity of tick-transmitted pathogens in Romania, we investigated the occurrence of Babesia spp., Theileria spp., and Hepatozoon spp. in a wide range of tick species infesting animal hosts. We collected 852 ticks from 10 different animal species from 20 counties in Romania. The assessment was based on detection of parasite DNA by PCR. Five different apicomplexan parasite species were detected; among them three different species of Babesia: B. canis, B. microti, and B. ovis. Hepatozoon canis was the most frequently detected parasite, found predominately in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from domestic dogs. It was also detected in I. ricinus collected from goat, fox, and cat. Furthermore, H. canis was found in Haemaphysalis punctata and Haemaphysalis concinna ticks. In addition, Theileria buffeli was detected in Rhipicephalus bursa ticks collected from cattle.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Martin O., et al.
(författare)
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Canine tick-borne diseases in pet dogs from Romania
- 2017
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Ingår i: Parasites & Vectors. - : BioMed Central. - 1756-3305. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Tick-borne diseases are of substantial concern worldwide for animals as well as humans. Dogs have been a human companion for millennia, and their significant impact on human life renders disease in dogs to be of great concern. Tick-borne diseases in dogs represent a substantial diagnostic challenge for veterinarians in that clinical signs are often diffuse and overlapping. In addition, co-infections with two or more pathogens enhance this problem further. Molecular methods are useful to disentangle co-infections and to accurately describe prevalence and geographical distribution of tick-borne diseases. At this point, this information is lacking in many areas worldwide. Romania is one such area, where prevalence and distribution of several important pathogens need to be further investigated. To address this, we screened blood samples from 96 sick dogs with molecular methods for eight different pathogens including Babesia spp., Theileria spp., Hepatozoon spp., Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis", Mycoplasma spp., and Borrelia spp. Results: As many as 45% (43/ 96) of the dogs in the study were infected with protozoan parasites. Babesia canis was the most frequent of these (28 infected dogs), whereas Hepatozoon canis was detected in 15% (14/ 96) and Babesia gibsoni was found in a single sample. Bacterial infection with Mycoplasma spp. occurred in 18% (17/ 96) of the sampled dogs. Obtained bacterial sequences revealed the occurrence of two species: Mycoplasma canis and "Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum". In several cases co-infection with protozoan parasites and Mycoplasma sp. were detected. All dogs were negative for Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., "Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis", and for Borrelia spp. Conclusions: The results from the present study reinforce the notion that Babesia canis is an important pathogen in the Romanian dog population. However, more surprisingly, another protozoan species, H. canis, seems to be infecting dogs to a larger extent than previously recognized in Romania. Well-known tick-borne bacterial disease agents such as Anaplasma spp. and Borrelia spp. were not detected. In contrast, less wellstudied bacteria such as hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. were detected frequently. Moreover, co-infection might aggravate disease and complicate diagnosis and should be further studied in dogs.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Martin O., et al.
(författare)
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Molecular survey of neglected bacterial pathogens reveals an abundant diversity of species and genotypes in ticks collected from animal hosts across Romania
- 2018
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Ingår i: Parasites & Vectors. - : BioMed Central. - 1756-3305. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Ticks are transmitting a wide range of bacterial pathogens that cause substantial morbidity and mortality in domestic animals. The full pathogen burden transmitted by tick vectors is incompletely studied in many geographical areas, and extensive studies are required to fully understand the diversity and distribution of pathogens transmitted by ticks. Results: We sampled 824 ticks of 11 species collected in 19 counties in Romania. Ticks were collected mainly from dogs, but also from other domestic and wild animals, and were subjected to molecular screening for pathogens. Rickettsia spp. was the most commonly detected pathogen, occurring in 10.6% (87/824) of ticks. Several species were detected: Rickettsia helvetica, R. raoultii, R. massiliae, R. monacensis, R. slovaca and R. aeschlimannii. A single occurrence of the zoonotic bacterium Bartonella vinsonii berkhoffii was detected in a tick collected from a dog. Anaplasma phagocytophilum occurred in four samples, and sequences similar to Anaplasma marginale/ovis were abundant in ticks from ruminants. In addition, molecular screening showed that ticks from dogs were carrying an Ehrlichia species identical to the HF strain as well as the enigmatic zoonotic pathogen "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis". An organism similar to E. chaffeensis or E. muris was detected in an Ixodes ricinus collected from a fox. Conclusions: We describe an abundant diversity of bacterial tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected from animal hosts in Romania, both on the level of species and genotypes/strains within these species. Several findings were novel for Romania, including Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii that causes bacteremia and endocarditis in dogs. "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis" was detected in a tick collected from a dog. Previously, a single case of infection in a dog was diagnosed in Germany. The results warrant further studies on the consequences of tick-borne pathogens in domestic animals in Romania.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Martin O., et al.
(författare)
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Tick-borne pathogens in tick species infesting humans in Sibiu County, central Romania
- 2018
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Ingår i: Parasitology Research. - : Springer. - 0932-0113 .- 1432-1955. ; 117:5, s. 1591-1597
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Romania has a highly diverse tick fauna. Consequently, a high diversity of tick-transmitted pathogens might be a potential threat to humans. However, only a limited number of tick species regularly infest humans, and pathogens present in such species are therefore of particular interest from a medical perspective. In this study, 297 ticks were collected from humans during 2013 and 2014. Ixodes ricinus was the predominant tick species, accounting for 272 specimens or 91.6% of the ticks in the study. Nevertheless, other tick species were also found to infest humans: Dermacentor marginatus constituted 7% of the ticks found on humans (21/297), Haemaphysalis punctata 1% (3/297), and Haemaphysalis concinna 0.3% (1/297). Ticks were tested by PCR for a wide range of tick-borne pathogens. In total, 11.8% of the ticks carried human pathogenic bacteria, while no viral or protozoan pathogens were detected. The most frequently detected pathogen was Rickettsia spp., occurring in 5.4% of the ticks (16/297) and comprising three species: Rickettsia (R.) raoultii, R. monacensis, and R. helvetica. Borrelia s.l. occurred in 3% (9/297) of the ticks. "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis" occurred in 1.7% (5/297) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in 1.3% (4/297). Anaplasma bovis was detected in an H. punctata and Borrelia miyamotoi in an I. ricinus. These results point to the need for further studies on the medical importance of tick-borne pathogens in Romania.
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| 5. |
- Divé, Iris, et al.
(författare)
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Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection in pregnancy: Absence of virus transmission to the fetuses despite severe maternal disease - A case study.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Ticks and tick-borne diseases. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-9603 .- 1877-959X. ; 11:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an emerging infectious disease in large parts of Europe and Asia. Whereas other members of the Flaviviridae family can harm fetal development, there are only very few reports on TBE virus (TBEV) infections during pregnancy. Thus, the implications for fetal health remain largely unknown. In this study, we present detailed pre- and postnatal health assessment of three children in the context of severe maternal TBEV infection during pregnancy. Following acute TBEV infection of the mothers, intrauterine growth and development of all children were assessed by repetitive prenatal ultrasound. Postnatal examinations included clinical and virological analyses over a follow-up period of 18 months. Prenatally, no signs of intrauterine growth restrictions were observed. All neonates were delivered at term. Umbilical cord blood of the newborns tested negative for TBEV RNA. Virus-specific IgG antibodies were positive at birth but negative at 9 and 11 months of age. Importantly, IgM antibodies remained negative throughout the period of observation. Taken together, these clinical and virological data strongly suggest that fetal TBEV infection did not occur, despite severe manifestations in the mothers.
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| 6. |
- Eikeland, Randi, et al.
(författare)
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Tick-borne diseases in the North Sea region-A comprehensive overview and recommendations for diagnostics and treatment
- 2024
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Ingår i: Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. - : ELSEVIER GMBH. - 1877-959X .- 1877-9603. ; 15:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As part of the NorthTick project, co -funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and the North Sea Region Programme, specialists in the field of tick -borne diseases from seven North Sea countries co-operated with patient organisations and governmental health care institutions to provide this comprehensive overview of diagnostics and treatment recommendations in the region for Lyme borreliosis, Borrelia miyamotoi infection, tick -borne encephalitis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, rickettsiosis, neoehrlichiosis and babesiosis. The main conclusion is that the recommendations in these northern countries are essentially the same, with very few differences. This overview presents the current diagnostics and provides useful clinical guidance.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Kurhade, Chaitanya, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Correlation of Severity of Human Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Disease and Pathogenicity in Mice
- 2018
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Ingår i: Emerging Infectious Diseases. - : Centers for Disease control and Prevention. - 1080-6040 .- 1080-6059. ; 24:9, s. 1709-1712
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We compared 2 tick-borne encephalitis virus strains isolated from 2 different foci that cause different symptoms in tick-borne encephalitis patients, from neurologic to mild gastrointestinal symptoms. We compared neuroinvasiveness, neurovirulence, and proinflammatory cytokine response in mice and found unique differences that contribute to our understanding of pathogenesis.
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| 9. |
- Lindquist, Richard, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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The envelope protein of tick-borne encephalitis virus influences neuron entry, pathogenicity, and vaccine protection
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Neuroinflammation. - : BioMed Central. - 1742-2094. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is considered to be the medically most important arthropod-borne virus in Europe. The symptoms of an infection range from subclinical to mild flu-like disease to lethal encephalitis. The exact determinants of disease severity are not known; however, the virulence of the strain as well as the immune status of the host are thought to be important factors for the outcome of the infection. Here we investigated virulence determinants in TBEV infection.METHOD: Mice were infected with different TBEV strains, and high virulent and low virulent TBEV strains were chosen. Sequence alignment identified differences that were cloned to generate chimera virus. The infection rate of the parental and chimeric virus were evaluated in primary mouse neurons, astrocytes, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, and in vivo. Neutralizing capacity of serum from individuals vaccinated with the FSME-IMMUN® and Encepur® or combined were evaluated.RESULTS: We identified a highly pathogenic and neurovirulent TBEV strain, 93/783. Using sequence analysis, we identified the envelope (E) protein of 93/783 as a potential virulence determinant and cloned it into the less pathogenic TBEV strain Torö. We found that the chimeric virus specifically infected primary neurons more efficiently compared to wild-type (WT) Torö and this correlated with enhanced pathogenicity and higher levels of viral RNA in vivo. The E protein is also the major target of neutralizing antibodies; thus, genetic variation in the E protein could influence the efficiency of the two available vaccines, FSME-IMMUN® and Encepur®. As TBEV vaccine breakthroughs have occurred in Europe, we chose to compare neutralizing capacity from individuals vaccinated with the two different vaccines or a combination of them. Our data suggest that the different vaccines do not perform equally well against the two Swedish strains.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that two amino acid substitutions of the E protein found in 93/783, A83T, and A463S enhanced Torö infection of neurons as well as pathogenesis and viral replication in vivo; furthermore, we found that genetic divergence from the vaccine strain resulted in lower neutralizing antibody titers in vaccinated individuals.
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| 10. |
- Upadhyay, Arunkumar S., et al.
(författare)
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Viperin is an iron-sulfur protein that inhibits genome synthesis of tick-borne encephalitis virus via radical SAM domain activity
- 2014
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Ingår i: Cellular Microbiology. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1462-5814 .- 1462-5822. ; 16:6, s. 834-848
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Viperin is an interferon-induced protein with a broad antiviral activity. This evolutionary conserved protein contains a radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) domain which has been shown in vitro to hold a [4Fe-4S] cluster. We identified tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) as a novel target for which human viperin inhibits productionof the viral genome RNA. Wt viperin was found to require ER localization for full antiviral activity and to interact with the cytosolic Fe/S protein assembly factor CIAO1. Radiolabelling in vivo revealed incorporation of Fe-55, indicative for the presence of an Fe-S cluster. Mutation of the cysteine residues ligating the Fe-S cluster in the central radical SAM domain entirely abolished both antiviral activity and incorporation of Fe-55. Mutants lacking the extreme C-terminal W361 did not interact with CIAO1, were not matured, and were antivirally inactive. Moreover, intracellular removal of SAM by ectopic expression of the bacteriophage T3 SAMase abolished antiviral activity. Collectively, our data suggest that viperin requires CIAO1 for [4Fe-4S] cluster assembly, and acts through an enzymatic, Fe-S cluster- and SAM-dependent mechanism to inhibit viral RNA synthesis.
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