Integration of a Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato into Mountain Ecosystems, Following a Shift in the Altitudinal Limit of Distribution of Their Vector, Ixodes ricinus (Krkonoše Mountains, Czech Republic)

0342962 - BC 2011 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Danielová, V. - Daniel, M. - Schwarzová, L. - Materna, J. - Rudenko, Natalia - Golovchenko, Maryna - Holubová, J. - Grubhoffer, Libor - Kilian, P.
Integration of a Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato into Mountain Ecosystems, Following a Shift in the Altitudinal Limit of Distribution of Their Vector, Ixodes ricinus (Krkonoše Mountains, Czech Republic).
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. Roč. 10, č. 3 (2010), s. 223-230. ISSN 1530-3667. E-ISSN 1557-7759
Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GA310/06/1546
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518
Keywords : Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies * Climate * Ixodes ricinus tick * Mountain ecosystems * Tick-borne encephalitis virus
Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine
Impact factor: 2.733, year: 2010

The altitudinal shift in the limit of Ixodes ricinus occurrence above the previously established altitude of 750m above sea level has been monitored over the long-term (2002–2008) in the Krkonose Mts. along two vertical transects in their eastern and central parts (600–1020 and 600–1270 m). Ticks were collected by flagging three times annually, and examined individually by PCR or RT-PCR for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. or tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). A total of 5999 I. ricinus ticks were tested. TBEV RNA was detected in 26 ticks at up to 1140 m. B. burgdorferi sensu stricto was found at up to 1040–1065m, B. garinii and B. afzelii up to 1080–1140m, and B. valaisiana up to 1270 m. The total infection rates of nymphs and larvae were 7.3% and 2%, respectively. Upon analysis of the local climate we consider climate warming to be responsible for the spreading of ticks and tick-transmitted pathogens to higher altitudes.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0185559