The prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes persulcatus and I. ricinus ticks in the zone of their sympatry

Abstract

A total of 7210 unfed adult Ixodes persulcatus Schulze, 1930 and I. ricinus (L.. 1758) ticks were collected from the vegetation by flagging in 35 study sites located in the zone of their sympatry (mainly in Leningrad region, Russia), Borrelia infection in ticks was estimated by the dark-field microscopic analysis of gut contents in standard vital preparations at a magnification of ×600. No correlation was revealed between the series of parameters characterising the abundance of each tick species (τ = -0.13) and between the series of these parameters and the prevalence of Borrelia in each vector. It is concluded that in the broad zone of I. persulcatus and I. ricinus sympatry, the presence and proportion of one vector in the ecosystem does not have any significant effect on the extensity of infection and on the epizootic and epidemic significance of the other vector. Each tick species has its independent (of the other species) and relatively original functional role in the focal ecosystem.