Ticks and tick-borne pathogens in popular recreational areas in Tallinn, Estonia: an underestimated risk of tick-borne diseases
Abstract BACKGROUND For over several decades ticks are noticed to be widely present in the green spaces of urban environments. Rodents that provide essential blood-meals for subadult ticks and serve as natural reservoirs for many known tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis, might be quite abundant in green areas within urban settlements. In that way, the improvement of green infrastructures within cities possess not only to better human well-being but might also increase the risk of being bitten by a tick and having a tick-borne disease. This study aimed to provide a first insight into ticks and tick-borne pathogen presence and prevalence in popular recreational green areas in Tallinn, Estonia. METHODS Ticks were collected by flagging in May-June, 2018. Tick species identification was performed on morphological criteria. Tick-borne pathogens detection was performed by pathogen-specific PCR and qPCR reactions. RESULTS 855 Ixodes ticks were collected from a total area of 12 000 m2. An estimated tick abundance were up to 18.5 ticks per 100 m2. 34.3% of all ticks were revealed positive for at least one tick-borne pathogen. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. was found in 17.5%, Rickettsia sp in 13.8%, Neoehrlichia mikurensis on 5.4%, B. miyamotoi in 2.5%, Anaplasma phagocytophilum in 0.6% and tick-borne encephalitis virus in 0.5% of ticks. CONCLUSION This study reports the occurrence of Ixodes tick species in popular recreational, outdoor sports and leisure areas in the largest city of Estonia, with abundance and prevalence rates compatible or even exceeding those detected previously in the most endemic foci in the natural environments. Taking into account increasing Lyme borreliosis incidence, the risk of acquiring a tick bite and being infected with a tick-borne disease in urban recreational sites should not be ignored and proper information about the precautions might be considered.