The prevalence and distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in host seeking Ixodes ricinus ticks in Lithuania

Abstract

A total of 1559 unfed Ixodes ricinus (L., 1758) ticks were collected from the vegetation by flagging in 18 locations of Lithuania. The ticks were teste individually for the presence of spirochetes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques able to identify Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.). The overall prevalence of B. burgdorferi s. l. infection by PCR was shown to be 13.4%. Both nymph and adult stages were infected. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of B. burgdorferi s. l. in female compared to male (p = 0.355). Arrangement of data according to landscape type into 3 groups (group I – agricultural land; group II – pine forest; group III – deciduous and mixed forest) showed that differences in the prevalence of B. burgdorferi s. l. among these groups are significant. There was no correlation between the prevalence of B. burgdorferi s. l. in ticks and geographical areas in Lithuania. Keywords: Ixodes ricinus ticks, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, PCR, prevalence, distribution