Tomasz Szewczyk

Molecular surveillance of Theileria equi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum infections in horses from Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia

A survey was undertaken to assess the prevalence of Theileria equi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in some regions of Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia. Using a specific PCR assays, blood samples from 215 horses were tested. The prevalence of T. equi and A. phagocytophilum infection was 13.95% and 1.4%, respectively. BLAST analysis showed the isolates closest to the T. equi 18S rRNA and A. phagocytophilum msp4 gene sequences in GenBank with a similarity of ≥99%. No significant association was found between the T. equi PCR positivity and the age or sex of the horses. There was a significant association between the origin of horses and T. equi-PCR positivity. No significant association was found between the A. phagocytophilum-PCR positivity and the age, sex or origin.

The role of particular tick developmental stages in the circulation of tick-borne pathogens affecting humans in Central Europe. 3. Rickettsiae.

UNLABELLED Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus and D. marginatus ticks are the most important vector for Rickettsia spp. in Central Europe. Ticks sustain rickettsial transmission cycles transovarially and transstadially, it makes enable the rickettsial circulation in the tick population in the absence of vertebrate competent reservoir. Rickettsia helvetica is transmitted by I. ricinus tick; the highest rates of infection are noted in adult females, lower in males and in nymphs. All tick developmental stages apart males are able to infect mammal hosts and humans. The potential animal reservoir could be wild boar, the role of deer is unclear; small rodents maintain the tick population. Rickettsia slovaca is transmitted by D. marginatus and D. reticulatus ticks. The available data suggest the role of wild boars and Apodemus mice as animal reservoir. The ticks able to infect human are adults D. marginatus. Rickettsia raoultii is transmitted by D. marginatus and D. reticulatus. The infections of mammals are not recorded. As in Rickettsia slovaca, human can be infected by adults D. marginatus. Rickettsia monacensis is transmitted in Central Europe by I. ricinus tick (apart males), although there is a documented infection of Dermacentor ticks. The differences in the infection rates of ticks larvae, nymphs and adults suggest the limited role of transovarial transmission, and the participation of mammals in the zoonotic cycle, being the source of infection for larvae and nymphs. KEY WORDS SFG, Rickettsia slovaca, Rickettsia helvetica, Rickettsia raoultii, Rickettsia monacensis, ticks.

Rickettsia raoultii in Dermacentor reticulatus Ticks, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, 2010.

The data used in this study were collected as part of the monitoring and evaluation processes of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative programs taking place in Niger. Sequences were obtained using the DNA sequencing facilities in the Natural History Museum. Ethical approval for this research was granted by the Niger Ministry of Health Ethical Review Board and by the Imperial College Research Ethics Committee (ICREC_8_2_2, EC no. 03.36, R&D no. 241 03/SB/003E) in combination with ongoing Schistosomiasis Control Initiative activities. All infected children in the study were provided treatment with 40 mg/kg praziquantel.

The role of particular ticks developmental stages in the circulation of tick-borne pathogens in Central Europe. 4. Anaplasmataceae

In Central European conditions, two species of Anaplasmataceae have epidemiological significance – Candidatus Neoehrlichia micurensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Tick Ixodes ricinus is considered as their main vector, wild mammals as the animal reservoir. There is presented the transstadial transmission in ticks, due to the lack of transovarial mode the circulation goes mainly between immature ticks and hosts; pathogen circulates primarily in the cycle: infected rodent → the tick larva → the nymph → the mammal reservoir → the larva of the tick. The tick stages able to effectively infect human are nymphs and adult females, males do not participate in the follow transmission. The summary of available data of different A. phagocytophilum strains associations with different hosts revealed at least few distinct enzootic cycle, concern the same ticks species and different mammal hosts. It is possible to reveal in Central Europe the existence of at least three different epidemiological transmission cycles of A. phagocytophilum. The first cycle involves strains pathogenic for human and identical strains from horses, dogs, cats, wild boars, hedgehogs, possibly red foxes. The second cycle involves deer, European bison and possibly domestic ruminants. The third cycle contains strains from voles, shrew and possibly Apodemus mice. In Western Europe voles might be involved in separate enzootic cycle with Ixodes trianguliceps as the vector.

The infection of reintroduced ruminants – Bison bonasus and Alces alces – with Anaplasma phagocytophilum in northern Poland

The north-eastern part of Poland is considered an area of high risk for infection with tick-borne diseases, including with human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agents. The etiological agent of HGE is Anaplasma phagocytophilum. As the animal reservoir for A. phagocytophilum in the environment serve the species from Cervidae and Bovidae families. European bison (Bison bonasus) and elk (Alces alces) are the big ruminant species, reintroduced to the forests of Middle Europe after many decades of absence. In the foci of zoonotic diseases they are able to play a role as natural reservoir to pathogens, however, their status as protected animals means their study has been rare and fragmentary. The studies of B. bonasus were conducted in Bialowieza Primeval Forest and A. alces in Biebrza National Park. PCR amplifications were performed using primers amplifing the end of the groES gene, the intergenic spacer and approximately two-thirds of the groEL gene in the first round, and primers that span a 395-bp region of the groEL gene were used in the second round. The positive results were obtained in B. bonasus and A. alces, the prevalence of infection was 66.7 and 20.0%, respectively. Randomly selected samples were sequenced, sequences were compared with GenBank entries using Blast N2.2.13 and determined as A. phagocytophilum. The results presented herein are the first record of the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in A. alces, and at the same time confirm the previous observations regarding the infection of B. bonasus with A. phagocytophilum.

Rickettsiales Occurrence and Co-occurrence in Ixodes ricinus Ticks in Natural and Urban Areas

Bacteria of Rickettsiaceae and Anaplasmataceae families include disease agents spread by Ixodes ricinus ticks, the most common tick vector in Europe. The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence and co-infection prevalence of particular tick-transmitted Rickettsiales members: Rickettsia spp. (further referred as Rs), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Ap), and “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” (CNM) in I. ricinus ticks in two types of areas, different in terms of human impact: natural and urban. Using additional data, we aimed at investigating co-occurrence of these Rickettsiales with Borreliella spp. A total of 4189 tick specimens, 2363 from the urban area (Warsaw park and forests) and 1826 from the natural area (forests and park in the vicinity of National Parks), were tested for the presence of Rickettsiales DNA by PCRs. The prevalence of selected Rickettsiales was twice higher in urban than natural areas (13.2% vs. 6.9%, respectively). In total ticks, the prevalence of Rs, Ap, and CNM was 6.5%, 5.3%, and 3.6% in urban areas vs. 4.4%, 1.1%, and 2.1% in natural areas, respectively. Co-infections of Rickettsiales were also more prevalent in urban areas (2.6% vs. 0.3%, respectively). The most common Rs was R. helvetica; also R. monacensis and novel “Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii” were detected. Positive association between Ap and CNM infections was discovered. Rickettsiales bacteria occurrence was not associated with Borreliella occurrence, but co-infections with these two groups were more common in ticks in urban areas. In conclusion, three groups of Rickettsiales constituted the important part of the tick pathogen community in Poland, especially in the urbanized central Poland (Mazovia). In the Warsaw agglomeration, there is a greater risk of encountering the I. ricinus tick infected with Rickettsiales and co-infected with Lyme spirochaetes, in comparison to natural areas. This finding raises the question whether cities might in fact be the hot spots for TBDs.

The Competition Between Immatures of Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Ticks for Rodent Hosts

Abstract The numbers of Ixodes ricinus (L.) and Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius) larvae and nymphs attached to small mammals are influenced by interspecific competition.The present study analyses data collected over several years in two study areas: Kosewo Górne (Mazurian District, N Poland; between July 1997 and July 2009) and Białowieża Primeval Forest (E Poland; in July 2007). In total, 975 ticks were collected from striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius), yellow-necked mice (A. flavicollis), bank voles (Myodes glareolus), and root voles (Microtus oeconomus). In total, of the 203 investigated rodents, 137 were infested with ticks and 39 demonstrated mixed infection. The numbers of the two tick species found on Apodemus mice were significantly negatively correlated with those on root voles; similarly, although bank voles were significantly more frequently infested by I. ricinus than by D. reticulatus, the reverse was observed in root voles. In addition, among the voles, each tick species was found in different locations on the host body, which could also result from competitive interactions; furthermore, competitive release regarding microhabitat selection was observed on hosts infested with one tick species.This competition may be driven by the limited area of host body available for foraging by ticks, i.e., safe areas of high vascularization covered by thin skin. However, the mechanisms of such competition require further investigation.

TwinCube—Preliminary Study of a Tether Experiment for CubeSat Mission

The article covers a preliminary research on a Tethered Satellite System based on a 3U CubeSat pico-satellite standard, which main purpose is to perform two-point diagnostic measurements of electromagnetic emissions in near-Earth plasma. Multi-point measurements play a significant role in understanding energy flows driven by Sun as well as terrestrial activity. Since CubeSats are expected to be low-cost and robust, development of a small and efficient plasma diagnostic tool for hardware-restrained CubeSat platform might be important also for future space cluster missions. We propose a TwinCube mission consisting of two sub-satellites that will be preliminarily bonded with lock-and-release mechanisms. During in-orbit operations the mechanism will be released allowing for unwinding of the non-conductive tether and for separating two sub-satellites for up to 1 km. This action is crucial for the mission success and is considered as one of the important technological aspects of the project. Objectives and justification of the mission are outlined in the article, together with basic mission scenario, simulations confirming feasibility of the idea and discussion on assumptions for the mechanical design.