Publications (7) View all
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Article: Transmission of Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii by male Dermacentor marginatus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks to humans.
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ABSTRACT: We analyzed rickettsial DNA of ticks from tick-borne lymphadenopathy (TIBOLA) patients. Dermacentor marginatus (9/17) and Dermacentor reticulatus (8/17) transmitted rickettsiae to a similar extent. Rickettsia raoultii was detected in more ticks than Rickettsia slovaca. We observed the development of TIBOLA symptoms after the bite of males of both tick species.Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease 04/2013; · 2.45 Impact Factor -
Article: A sünök ektoparazitái és a sünökbõl kimutatott zoonotikus kórokozók. (Ectoparasites and zoonoticpathogens of hedgehogs. Literature review)
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ABSTRACT: sszefoglalás. A szerzõk, irodalmi összefoglalójukban áttekintést nyújtanak a hazai vé-dett keleti sünben, az Európában õshonos sünfajokban és a fogságban tartott sünök-ben és sünszerû emlõsökön elõforduló legfontosabb ektoparazitákról, valamint egyes zoonotikus jelentõségû vírusokról, baktériumokról, egysejtûekrõl és gombákról. Summary. The authors give a review on the ectoparasites and some potentially zoonotic viruses, bacteria, protozoa and fungi carried by exotic and European hedge-hog species. Az utóbbi néhány évtizedben egyre növekvõ számban tartanak az emberekMagyar Allatorvosok Lapja 01/2012; 6(134):353-360. · 0.20 Impact Factor -
Article: Ticks and the city: ectoparasites of the Northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus) in an urban park.
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ABSTRACT: The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is known to host several ectoparasites and also tick-borne pathogens, but there is scant information on its eastern relative, the Northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus). We have studied an urban population of E. roumanicus in a city park of central Budapest, Hungary, for 2 years to investigate their tick and flea species. A total of 5063 ticks and 818 fleas were collected from 247 hedgehogs (including 46 recaptures). Ectoparasite prevalence and intensity differed significantly (p<0.001) between the 2 study years attributable to the enhanced tick removal rate due to anaesthesia used in the second year. The most common tick species was Ixodes ricinus (93.7%) followed by unidentified Ixodes larvae (5%). Only 57 hedgehog ticks (I. hexagonus) were removed from 22 hedgehogs. One I. acuminatus and one Hyalomma marginatum nymph were also collected. Mean intensity of tick infestation was 26.5 (range: 0-155 ticks/host) and mean intensity of flea infestation was 6.6 (range: 0-78 fleas/host). Most fleas (99.4%) collected were hedgehog fleas (Archaeopsylla erinacei), dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) were found on 2 hedgehogs. Hyalomma marginatum has previously not been found in Hungary, and I. acuminatus was only reported sporadically before. The large number of ectoparasites and the 2 imported tick species may thus survive in close proximity to humans if hedgehogs are present. This calls attention to the risk of possible tick-borne human infections that urban hedgehogs can pose.Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 12/2011; 2(4):231-4. -
Article: Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in small mammals and ectoparasites in Hungary.
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ABSTRACT: The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in small mammals and ticks using polymerase chain reaction and to gain information about the prevalence and possible coexistence of these pathogens at a selected site in Hungary. Two hundred seventy-seven small mammals were trapped in South-Eastern Hungary during 2009. Tissue samples and a total of 831 ectoparasites (Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes acuminatus, Haemaphysalis concinna, Ctenophtalmus assimilis, and Nosopsyllus fasciatus) were collected from small mammals. One thousand one hundred and six I. ricinus and 476 H. concinna were collected from the vegetation during the investigation. Neither A. phagocytophilum nor B. burgdorferi s.l. was detected in any of the mammal tissue samples. A. phagocytophilum was not found in ticks collected from small mammals. Very low minimum prevalence was found for all pathogens (0.62% for Borrelia afzelii in ticks collected from small mammals, and 0.57%, 0.06%, and 0.19% for A. phagoctyophilum, B. afzelii, and Borrelia garinii, respectively, in questing ticks). The present study is the first report of borreliae from I. acuminatus and H. concinna from Hungary.Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.) 07/2011; 11(11):1499-501. · 2.61 Impact Factor -
Article: Investigation of the ecology of Francisella tularensis during an inter-epizootic period.
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ABSTRACT: A 1-year study of the ecological cycle of Francisella tularensis was performed in an enzootic area during an inter-epizootic period. The study was based on multiple sampling of all major constituents of the disease cycle. Seroprevalence of tularemia in the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) population was 5.1% (10/197) with low antibody titers (1/10 and 1/20), and F. tularensis ssp. holarctica was isolated from four hares. F. tularensis was not detected in the 38 common voles (Microtus arvalis), 110 yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis), or 15 stripped field mice (Apodemus agrarius) trapped during the study, or the by-catch of 8 Eurasian pygmy shrews (Sorex minutus) or 6 common shrews (Sorex araneus). A total of 1106 Ixodes ricinus and 476 Haemaphysalis concinna ticks were collected from vegetation, and 404 I. ricinus, 28 H. concinna ticks, and 15 Ctenophtalmus assimilis and 10 Nosopsyllus fasciatus fleas were combed off small mammals. One H. concinna female and one nymph collected from the vegetation was found infected with F. tularensis ssp. holarctica by TaqMan polymerase chain reaction, thus resulting a 0.42% (2/476) prevalence. F. tularensis-specific DNA was not detected in environmental water samples, and the examined 100 sheep, 50 cows, and 50 buffalos grazed at the study area were all seronegative. During inter-epizootic periods, F. tularensis ssp. holarctica seems to persist only in the European brown hare--H. concinna cycle at the studied habitat. H. concinna may not serve exclusively as an arthropod vector, but it may also harbor bacteria for 3-4 years through multiple life stages and act as an important reservoir of F. tularensis. Rodent species probably do not serve as true reservoir hosts of tularemia.Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.) 12/2010; 11(8):1031-5. · 2.61 Impact Factor
