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Parasit Vectors 2021 May 7;14(1):244. Epub 2021 May 7.

Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands.

Background: Ticks of the genus Hyalomma, which are vectors for several tick-borne diseases, are occasionally found in areas outside their endemic range including northern parts of Europe. The objective of this study was to analyse adult Hyalomma ticks that were recently found in the Netherlands.

Methods: Hyalomma ticks were morphologically identified. Read More

Pathogens 2021 Apr 9;10(4). Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases (CEVBD), Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.

, a tick-borne rickettsial, causes heartwater in ruminants resulting from vascular damage. Severity of heartwater varies greatly in ruminant species and breeds, age of animals and for diverse geographic . strains. Read More

Microorganisms 2021 Mar 21;9(3). Epub 2021 Mar 21.

Infectious Diseases Department, Center of Rickettsiosis and Arthropod-Borne Diseases (CRETAV), San Pedro University Hospital-Center of Biomedical Research from La Rioja (CIBIR), Piqueras, 98, 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus), mainly transmitted by ticks, belonging to the genus (family , order ). CCHFV causes a potentially severe, or even fatal, human disease, and it is widely distributed in Africa, Asia, eastern Europe and, more recently, in South-western Europe. Until a few years ago, no cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) had been reported in western Europe, with the exception of several travel-associated cases. Read More

Ann Agric Environ Med 2021 Mar 5;28(1):49-55. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfections, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland.

Introduction And Objective: () and () are the most common ticks in Poland. These ticks contain many bacteria, which compose a microbiome with potential impact on humans. The aim of the study was to discover the microbiome of ticks in Poland. Read More

Front Immunol 2021 12;12:625993. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

Department of Medical Sciences, Frank H. Netter, M.D., School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, United States.

Ticks and tick transmitted infectious agents are increasing global public health threats due to increasing abundance, expanding geographic ranges of vectors and pathogens, and emerging tick-borne infectious agents. Greater understanding of tick, host, and pathogen interactions will contribute to development of novel tick control and disease prevention strategies. Tick-borne pathogens adapt in multiple ways to very different tick and vertebrate host environments and defenses. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2021 05 2;12(3):101683. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Niigata Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, 314-1 Sowa, Nishi-ku, Niigata City, 950-2144, Japan.

We performed tick surveys in all regions (Kaetsu, Chuetsu, Joetsu, and Sado) of the Niigata prefecture, Japan. A total of 105 field surveys were done from 2016 to 2018 in 41 sites, from north to south, in the prefecture. All 4806 ticks collected were identified and classified by species, sex, and developmental stage. Read More

J Clin Virol 2021 Feb 13;135:104735. Epub 2021 Jan 13.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Kasturba Medical College and Hospital, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576104, Karnataka, India; Manipal Center for Infectious Diseases, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576104, Karnataka, India. Electronic address:

Introduction: Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) is a biphasic tick-borne viral fever that is endemic to 16 districts and five states of Southern India. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical/ laboratory manifestations of KFD.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of confirmed KFD patients admitted in our hospital between December 2018 and June 2019. Read More

Vaccine 2021 Feb 20;39(7):1035-1038. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Department of Hematology and Coagulation, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address:

Introduction: Our aim was to assess response and side effects of 4 doses of TBE vaccine to patients (pts) after allo- and autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT).

Patients: Included were 104 pts with leukaemia, myeloma and lymphoma, median age 61 yrs.

Methods: Vaccine (FSME-Immun®) was given at 9, 10, 12, and 21 months post-transplant. Read More

PLoS One 2020 19;15(11):e0241587. Epub 2020 Nov 19.

Clinic of Infectious Diseases and Dermatovenerology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Introduction: In recent decades, the incidence of Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has been increasing and posing a growing health problem because of the high costs to the healthcare system and society. The clinical manifestations are well studied but there is a lack of research analyzing the severity of the disease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiology and clinical presentation of severe TBE, to identify the predictors for a severe disease course, and also predictors for meningoencephalomyelitic and severe meningoencephalitic/encephalitic forms. Read More

Exp Appl Acarol 2021 Jan 18;83(1):147-164. Epub 2020 Nov 18.

Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.

The role of resident or migratory birds in dispersal of tick species and tick-borne pathogens is still poorly known in Italy. We report here the results of a 3-year project based on sampling ticks from migratory birds, as well as from the vegetation at three stop-over sites for migrants, namely the islands of Ventotene (Latium), Asinara (Sardinia) and Ustica (Sicily). During the spring seasons from 2017-2019, in total 2681 ticks were collected, 2344 of which were sampled from migratory birds and 337 from the vegetation. Read More

Vet World 2020 Sep 3;13(9):1764-1770. Epub 2020 Sep 3.

University of Córdoba, Institute of Tropical Biology Research, Córdoba, Colombia.

Background And Aim: Wildlife animals are reservoirs of a large number of microorganisms pathogenic to humans, and ticks could be responsible for the transmission of these pathogens. spp. are the most prevalent pathogens found in ticks. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2021 Jan 16;102:132-135. Epub 2020 Oct 16.

Department of Medicine, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia; The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address:

Introduction: Clinicians are commonly taught that if patients with suspected rickettsial disease have continuing fever after 48 hours of anti-rickettsial therapy, an alternative diagnosis is likely.

Methods: This retrospective study of patients hospitalised with scrub typhus and Queensland tick typhus (QTT) in tropical Australia, examined the time to defervescence after initiation of the patients' anti-rickettsial therapy. It also identified factors associated with delayed defervescence (time to defervescence >48 hours after antibiotic commencement). Read More

Front Physiol 2020 23;11:572758. Epub 2020 Sep 23.

SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain.

Understanding the origin of ticks is essential for evaluating the risk of tick-borne disease introduction into new territories. However, when collecting engorged ticks from a host, it is virtually impossible to identify the geographical location where this tick was acquired. Recently, the elementome of tick exoskeleton was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis (EDS). Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2020 Oct;99(40):e21986

Département de Neurophysiologie Clinique, AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.

The manifestations of borreliosis in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) remain poorly described. As the symptoms of neuroborreliosis can be reversed with timely introduction of antibiotics, early identification could avoid unnecessary axonal loss. Our aim was to describe the characteristics of confirmed neuroborreliosis cases involving the PNS diagnosed between 2007 and 2017 in our neuromuscular disease center in a nonendemic area (La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France). Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Sep 29;21(19). Epub 2020 Sep 29.

Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, TX 77555-0609, USA.

Attributed to the tropism for host microvascular endothelium lining the blood vessels, vascular inflammation and dysfunction represent salient features of rickettsial pathogenesis, yet the details of fundamentally important pathogen interactions with host endothelial cells (ECs) as the primary targets of infection remain poorly appreciated. Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), a serine/threonine protein kinase of the phosphatidylinositol kinase-related kinase family, assembles into two functionally distinct complexes, namely mTORC1 (Raptor) and mTORC2 (Rictor), implicated in the determination of innate immune responses to intracellular pathogens via transcriptional regulation. In the present study, we investigated activation status of mTOR and its potential contributions to host EC responses during and infection. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2020 Sep 28. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis applied to veterinary sciences (UREAR-ULg), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liege, Belgium.

Background: Livestock plays a key role in the macro-economy of West Africa and provides livelihoods for millions of people. The main cattle rearing strategy in West Africa is pastoralism, including transhumance, that is a seasonal migration of cattle with their herders. This adaptive strategy aims to optimize livestock access to water and pastures. Read More

J Vet Res 2020 Sep 14;64(3):413-419. Epub 2020 Jul 14.

Research Laboratory Management of Local Animal Resources, Higher National Veterinary School, El Alia, Oued Smar, 1615 Algiers, Algeria.

Introduction: Horses ( are susceptible to tick-borne diseases. Two of them, Lyme borreliosis due to and granulocytic anaplasmosis due to were investigated in Algerian horses. The diseases have been less extensively studied in horses and results pertinent to Algeria have not been published. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2020 Sep 10;13(1):464. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Wildlife Ecology & Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Background: Arboviruses are a growing public health concern in Europe, with both endemic and exotic arboviruses expected to spread further into novel areas in the next decades. Predicting where future outbreaks will occur is a major challenge, particularly for regions where these arboviruses are not endemic. Spatial modelling of ecological risk factors for arbovirus circulation can help identify areas of potential emergence. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2020 Sep 7;13(1):452. Epub 2020 Sep 7.

LMK Medical laboratories and consultancies, P.O. Box 33686, Kampala, Uganda.

Background: East Coast fever (ECF) caused by Theileria parva is endemic in Rwanda. In this study, the antigenic and genetic diversity of T. parva coupled with immunization and field challenge were undertaken to provide evidence for the introduction of ECF immunization in Rwanda. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2021 Jan 28;27(1):32-39. Epub 2020 Aug 28.

Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8640, Japan. Electronic address:

Introduction: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne hemorrhagic fever caused by SFTS virus (SFTSV). The mortality rate of SFTS is pretty high, but no vaccines and antiviral drugs are currently available.

Methods: The antiviral effects of six green tea-related polyphenols, including four catechins and two flavonols, on SFTSV were evaluated to identify natural antiviral compounds. Read More

Nepal J Ophthalmol 2020 Jan;12(23):106-109

Hospital for Children, Eye, ENT and Rehabilitation Services (CHEERS).

Introduction: Ticks are ectoparasites which can lead to various blood borne diseases. Tick bite may resemble pigmented nevi, mole or nodule resulting a diagnostic dilemma. Tick bite in eye lid is rare and this case report describes tick bite in lower eye lid mimicking a traumatized pigmented nodule where the tick was identified only on magnification and was successfully removed mechanically. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2020 Aug 10;13(1):406. Epub 2020 Aug 10.

School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.

Introduction: The most abundant and widespread tick species in Great Britain, Ixodes ricinus, is responsible for the transmission of a range of pathogens that cause disease in livestock. Empirical data on tick distribution and prevalence are required to inform farm management strategies. However, such data are largely unavailable; previous surveys have been rare and are usually relatively localised. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2020 09 22;11(5):101450. Epub 2020 May 22.

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. Electronic address:

The Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, has recently become established in the United States. In East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, the native and previously introduced ranges, this tick is a vector of an important pathogen of cattle, Theileria orientalis. In 2017, the pathogenic Ikeda genotype of T. Read More

Viruses 2020 07 20;12(7). Epub 2020 Jul 20.

UMR Animal, Santé, Territoires, Risque et Ecosystèmes (ASTRE), CIRAD-INRAE-Université de Montpellier, 34398 Montpellier, France.

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important diseases in Suidae due to its significant health and socioeconomic consequences and represents a major threat to the European pig industry, especially in the absence of any available treatment or vaccine. In fact, with its high mortality rate and the subsequent trade restrictions imposed on affected countries, ASF can dramatically disrupt the pig industry in afflicted countries. In September 2018, ASF was unexpectedly identified in wild boars from southern Belgium in the province of Luxembourg, not far from the Franco-Belgian border. Read More

Vopr Virusol 2020;65(2):103-112

Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology, Vladimir region, Volginskiy, 601125, Russia.

Introduction: African swine fever virus (ASF) is a large DNA virus that is the only member of the Asfarviridae family. The spread of the ASF virus in the territory of the Russian Federation, Eastern Europe and China indicates the ineffectiveness of existing methods of combating the disease and reinforces the urgent need to create effective vaccines. One of the most significant antigens required for the formation of immune protection against ASF is a serotype-specific CD2v protein. Read More

Vopr Virusol 2020;65(1):21-26

Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune-and-Biological Products of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 108819, Russia.

Introduction: The well-known advantages of class Y antibodies (IgY) from egg yolks of immunized hens in comparison with class G antibodies (IgG) of laboratory animals traditionally used in laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases determine the stable interest of researchers in using IgY for these purposes (IgY technology). Over the past 20 years, the obvious benefits of IgY technology have been demonstrated for a number of viral and bacterial infections. Goals and objectives. Read More

Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2020 09 1;18(9):875-885. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University , Munich, Germany.

: Central nervous system (CNS) infections can be life-threatening and are often associated with disabling sequelae. One important factor in most CNS infections is a timely pathogen-specific treatment. The diagnostic methods available, however, do not always reach a satisfying sensitivity and specificity. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2020 Nov 8;67(6):2318-2323. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany.

African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious disease of pigs and represents a massive threat to animal health and the pig industry worldwide. The ASF virus (ASFV) is efficiently transmitted via blood and meat from infected animals and can be highly stable in the environment. There is therefore great concern about the potential role of contaminated raw materials used for feed or bedding in the spread of ASFV. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2020 Nov 29;67(6):2564-2578. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center, Qingdao, China.

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a contagious disease of domestic and wild pigs caused by the African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV). The disease has spread globally in recent years with serious economic consequences to pork production. This report describes an ASF outbreak that occurred in a large-scale Chinese commercial pig farm. Read More

PLoS One 2020 5;15(5):e0232132. Epub 2020 May 5.

Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

A risk assessment was conducted to assess the risk of ASFV entry into Japan through pork products illegally brought in by air passengers from China and fed to pigs in Japan. Scenario tree modelling was used with the following entry and exposure pathway considered to be the most likely route of ASF entry: an ASFV infected pork product is illegally brought into Japan by air travellers from China; this pork product is then used in a restaurant where scrap waste is recycled for animal feed and subsequently fed to pigs without being heat-treated. Input parameter values were based on surveys conducted by the authors, scientific data gathered from the literature and official data published by government agencies. Read More