Cornelia Silaghi

• Prof. Dr. med. vet.
• Head of Department at Friedrich Loeffler Institute

Aedes (Hulecoeteomyia) japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) (Theobald) is an invasive mosquito species in Central Europe, where it has colonized several areas. In this study, field-collected specimens of Ae. japonicus and Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) (Linnaeus) from Zürich (Switzerland) were orally exposed to two strains (NY99 and FIN) of...

Background Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is a genus of small biting midges (also known as “no-see ums”) that currently includes 1368 described species. They are proven or suspected vectors for important pathogens affecting animals such as bluetongue virus (BTV) and Schmallenberg virus (SBV). Currently little information is available on the...

Invasive Aedes mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae) are of public health concern in Europe because they are either recognized or potential vectors of pathogens. Loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a rapid and simple method for amplifying DNA with high specificity and efficiency, with the technique having potential for application in t...

The teratogenic orthobunyavirus Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is transmitted between its mammalian hosts by Culicoides biting midges. The genome of circulating SBV, i.e. variants present in viraemic ruminants or insect vectors, is very stable, while variants found in malformed ruminant foetuses display a high genetic variability. It was suggested that...

The mosquito-borne flaviviruses West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) pose a significant threat to the health of humans and animals. Both viruses co-circulate in numerous European countries including Germany. Due to their overlapping host and vector ranges, there is a high risk of co-infections. However, it is largely unknown if WNV and USUV...

Background The zoonotic intracellular alpha-proteobacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick-transmitted pathogen. The associations between vertebrate reservoirs and vectors are described as wide-ranging, and it was previously shown that the pathogenicity of A. phagocytophilum differs depending on the combination of pathogen variant and infected...

The increasing threat of arboviruses such as West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) requires the fast and efficient surveillance of these viruses. The examination of mosquitoes takes up an important part; however, these investigations are usually very time-consuming. An alternative sample type for arbovirus surveillance might be mosquito excr...

The mosquito-borne zoonotic flaviviruses West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are endemic in many European countries and emerged in Germany in recent years. Due to the increasing overlap of their distribution areas and their similar epidemiology, coinfections of WNV and USUV are possible. Indeed, coinfections in vertebrate hosts as a rare e...

Simple Summary The bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum can cause granulocytic anaplasmosis in domestic animals, wildlife, and humans. The pathogen is transmitted by ticks and is predominantly endemic in Central and Northern Europe. We discuss the percentages of dogs that tested positive for A. phagocytophilum by direct detection of the pathogen (4....

The prevalence of potential human pathogenic members of the order Rickettsiales differs between Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-positive and -negative tick microbiomes. Here, co-infection of members of the order Rickettsiales, such as Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Wolbachia pipientis, and Neoehrlichia mikurensis as well as B. burgdorf...

West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes as a biological vector. Because of its biting behavior, the widespread snow-melt mosquito Aedes punctor could be a potential bridge vector for WNV to humans and nonhuman mammals. However, little is known on its role in transmission of WNV. The aim of this study was to determin...

Background Bats ( Mammalia : Chiroptera ) serve as natural reservoirs for many zoonotic pathogens worldwide, including vector-borne pathogens. However, bat-associated parasitic arthropods and their microbiota are thus far not thoroughly described in many regions across the globe, nor is their role in the spillover of pathogens to other vertebrate s...

Background Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) is a tick-borne disease caused by Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum. In Germany, this pathogen is transmitted primarily by Ixodes ricinus. There is limited knowledge about its prevalence in horses in Germany. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the results of serological and molecular te...

In the context of climate change, globalization, and enhanced human traveling, arboviruses continue to represent a threat to public health. West Nile and Usutu viruses are mosquito-borne viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae family (Flavivirus genus) and members of the Japanese encephalitis virus serocomplex. Included in the Togaviridae family (Alp...

Human and animal vector-borne diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases, are emerging or re-emerging worldwide. Six Aedes invasive mosquito (AIM) species were introduced to Europe since the 1970s: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus, Ae. koreicus, Ae. atropalpus and Ae. triseriatus. Here, we report the results of AIMSurv2020, the firs...

Epidemiological knowledge on pathogens in ticks feeding on birds in Moldova is scarce. To reduce this gap of information, a total of 640 migrating and native birds of 40 species were caught from 2012 to 2015 and examined for the presence of ticks in the Republic of Moldova. Altogether, 262 ticks belonging to five tick species (Ixodes ricunus n = 24...

Background Ixodid ticks from the Northern Hemisphere have registered a northward expansion in recent years, and Dermacentor reticulatus is such an example in Europe, its expansion being considered a result of climate change alongside other factors. The aim of this study was to identify the composition of questing tick species and the associated pat...

Knowledge on the occurrence of pathogenic tick-borne bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma ovis is scarce in sheep from Germany. In 2020, owners from five flocks reported ill thrift lambs and ewes with tick infestation. Out of 67 affected sheep, 55 animals were clinically examined and hematological values, blood chemistry and fecal exami...

Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) represent the second-most diverse order of mammals after rodents, being described as hosts for a wide range of bloodsucking arthropods that are able to circulate bacterial, protozoal and viral agents. Bats join other mammals in facilitating the spread of pathogens and are natural reservoir hosts of a large variety of zoo...

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) causes the most common tick-borne infection in Europe, with Germany being amongst the countries with the highest incidences in humans. This study aimed at (1) comparing infection rates of B. burgdorferi s.l. in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from different habitat types in Southern Germany, (2) analysing genosp...

Babesiosis caused by the Babesia species is a parasitic tick-borne disease. It threatens many mammalian species and is transmitted through infected ixodid ticks. To date, the global occurrence and distribution are poorly understood in questing ticks. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to estimate the distribution of the pathogen. A deep search...

Background Small mammals are important maintenance hosts of ectoparasites as well as reservoir hosts for many arthropod-borne pathogens. In Germany, only a few studies have investigated ectoparasite communities on small mammals in their natural habitats. The aim of this study was to assess the species diversity and parameters influencing the mean i...

The striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) is known to carry several zoonotic pathogens, including Leptospira spp. and Dobrava-Belgrade orthohantavirus (DOBV). Since its first detection in 1996 in south-east Austria, the striped field mouse has further expanded its range in Austria. Here, we screened 35 striped field mice collected in an Austrian...

To address the lack of information on ticks infesting cattle in Egypt and the pathogens that they transmit, the current study aimed to (i) provide insight into tick species found on cattle in Egypt, (ii) identify the pathogens in ticks and their cattle hosts and (iii) detect pathogen associations in ticks and cattle. Tick samples and blood from the...

Most Bartonella spp. are transmitted by fleas and harbored by small mammals which serve as reservoirs. However, little is known about the composition of fleas and their Bartonella spp. from small mammals in Central Europe. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate flea communities on small mammals from three differently structured sites...

(1) Background: Wild cervids play an important role in transmission cycles of tick-borne pathogens; however, investigations of tick-borne pathogens in sika deer in Germany are lacking. (2) Methods: Spleen tissue of 74 sympatric wild cervids (30 roe deer, 7 fallow deer, 22 sika deer, 15 red deer) and of 27 red deer from a farm from southeastern Germ...

The awareness of zoonotic diseases in small ruminants has increased within the last two decades. Most of the zoonotic pathogens cause abortion in sheep and goats (Ganter 2015). For instance, the intracellular bacteria Coxiella burnetii affected more than 4,000 people in The Netherlands from 2007 until 2011. Large dairy goat farms were responsible f...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Background: Anaplasma marginale is an obligate intracellular bacterium and the main cause of bovine anaplasmosis in tropical and subtropical regions. In Egypt, data regarding the prevalence of A. marginale in ruminant hosts and of the circulating genotypes is lacking. This study therefore aimed to (i) investigate the presence, epidemiology and gen...

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne agent that has also been isolated from several tickspecies. Vector competence ofIxodes ricinus, one of the most common tick species in Europe, has beenpoorly investigated for WNV to date. As such, to evaluate the vector competence, laboratory rearedIxodes ricinusnymphs werein vitrofed with WNV lineage 1 inf...

Background: Ticks are hematophagous arthropods responsible for maintenance and transmission of several pathogens of veterinary and medical importance. Current knowledge on species diversity and pathogens transmitted by ticks infesting camels in Nigeria is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to unravel the status of ticks and tick-borne p...

The hard tick Dermacentor reticulatus transmits Babesia canis, the causative agent of canine babesiosis. Both the occurrence and local distribution of D. reticulatus as well as infection rates of questing ticks with B. canis are thus far poorly known in Bavaria, Germany. The objectives of this study were to conduct (1) a georeferenced field study o...

Ljungan virus (LV), which belongs to the Parechovirus genus in the Picornaviridae family, was first isolated from bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in Sweden in 1998 and proposed as a zoonotic agent. To improve knowledge of the host association and geographical distribution of LV, tissues from 1685 animals belonging to multiple rodent and insectivore s...

West Nile virus (WNV) is a widespread zoonotic arbovirus and a threat to public health in Germany since its first emergence in 2018. It has become of particular relevance in Germany in 2019 due to its rapid geographical spread and the detection of the first human clinical cases. The susceptibility of indigenous Culex pipiens (biotypes pipiens and m...

Recently, the occurrence of Ixodes ( Pholeoixodes ) kaiseri has been reported for the first time in several European countries, but data on the molecular analysis of this hard tick species are still lacking. Therefore, in this study DNA extracts of 28 I. kaiseri (collected from dogs and red foxes in Germany, Hungary and Romania) were screened with...

Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium that replicates in neutrophil granulocytes. It is transmitted by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex and causes febrile illness in humans and animals. The geographical distribution of A. phagocytophilum spans the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. However, hu...

Anaplasmosis and theileriosis are important diseases with great economic impact that affect the cattle industry worldwide. In this study, we describe the first molecularly confirmed clinical cases of anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale and of a concurrent infection with A. bovis and Theileria orientalis in Croatian cattle. Clinical signs of...

Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium that replicates in neutrophil granulocytes. It is transmitted by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex and causes febrile illness in humans and animals. We used multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and ankA gene-based typing to study the molecular epidemiology of...

West Nile virus (WNV), a zoonotic arbovirus, has recently established an autochthonous transmission cycle in Germany. In dead‐end hosts like humans and horses the WNV infection may cause severe symptoms in the central nervous system. In nature, WNV is maintained in an enzootic transmission cycle between birds and ornithophilic mosquitoes. Bridge ve...

Background: Ixodes ricinus is the most common tick species in Europe and the main vector for Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). It is involved also in the transmission of Borrelia miyamotoi, a relapsing fever spirochete that causes health disorders in humans. Little is known regarding the circulation of Bor...

Background: Parafilaria bovicola (Nematoda: Filariidae) causes cutaneous bleedings in bovine species. Flies serve as intermediate hosts. In recent years, reports on bovine parafilariosis have become more frequent, corroborating the necessity of reliable diagnostic interventions especially since no molecular or serological test has been available....

The way in which European genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum circulate in their natural foci and which variants cause disease in humans or livestock remains thus far unclear. Red deer and roe deer are suggested to be reservoirs for some European A. phagocytophilum strains, and Ixodes ricinus is their principal vector. Based on groEL gene...

The zoonotic mosquito-borne filarial nematode Dirofilaria repens causes subcutaneous and ocular infections in dogs, cats and humans. Microfilariae (mf) are taken up by mosquitoes from infected vertebrate hosts which develop in the mosquito to the infective L3. These are transmitted to new vertebrate hosts and develop over two further moults to adul...

West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic flavivirus whose transmission cycle in nature includes wild birds as amplifying hosts and ornithophilic mosquito vectors. Bridge vectors can transmit WNV to mammal species potentially causing West Nile Fever. Wild bird migration is a mode of WNV introduction into new areas. The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDB...

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium that replicates in neutrophil granulocytes. It is transmitted by ticks and causes tick-borne fever in domestic ruminants such as sheep, cattle and goats. However, in contrast to sheep and cattle little is known about the clinical course of infection in goats. We report he...

Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is currently regarded as a single species. However, molecular studies indicate that it can be subdivided into ecotypes, each with distinct but overlapping transmission cycle. Here, we evaluate the interactions between and within clusters of haplotypes of the bacterium isolated from vertebrates and ticks, using...

Background The geographic distribution of Dermacentor reticulatus is expanding in Europe. Surveillance of this tick species and its pathogens is desirable, as it transmits pathogens of public and veterinary importance. A high-throughput real-time PCR-based array was used to screen 1.741 D. reticulatus ticks from Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, a...

Introduction: European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) have a high exposure to various ticks, which could transmit pathogens with direct health significance for the host and may have zoonotic potential. Tick-borne meningoencephalitis (FSME) is an important tick-borne disease in Switzerland, caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus. About its oc...

Dirofilaria repens is a nematode affecting domestic and wild canids, transmitted by several species of mosquitoes. It usually causes a non-pathogenic subcutaneous infection in dogs and is the principal agent of human dirofilariosis in the Old World. In the last decades, D. repens has increased in prevalence in areas where it has already been report...

Ticks transmit important pathogens affecting cattle such as intracellular bacteria of the genus Anaplasma or protozoa of the order Piroplasmida. This study aimed at assessing tick species present on pastures and cattle and determining occurrence of the tick-borne pathogens Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia spp. in cattle. During May and June 20...

West Nile virus (WNV) is continuously spreading in Eastern and Southern Europe. However, the extent of vector competence of Aedes japonicus (Theobald, 1901) is controversial. In this work, we elucidated the dynamics of virus growth in this invasive mosquito species. Females of Ae. japonicus were reared from eggs collected in the field in Switzerlan...

The incidence of tick-borne diseases caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. has been rising in Europe in recent decades. Early pre-assessment of acarological hazard still represents a complex challenge. The aim of this study was to model Ixodes ricinus questing nymph density and its infection rate w...

Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a zoonotic tick-borne intracellular alpha-proteobacterium causing tick-borne fever, which leads to significant economic losses in domestic ruminants in Europe. Its epidemiological cycles are complex and reservoir host species of bovine strains have not yet been identified. Given that little genetic informat...

Purpose of Review Ticks are among the most important vectors of pathogens concerning animal and human health worldwide. Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis (CNM) is a recently discovered intracellular bacterium of the order Rickettsiales associated with human clinical cases. In this review, we give an overview on the current knowledge of CNM in conn...

Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligate intracellular, tick-transmitted bacterium that causes granulocytic anaplasmosis in humans and several mammalian species including domestic ruminants where it is called tick-borne fever (TBF). Different genetic variants exist but their impact with regard to putative differences in host associatio...

Wild vertebrates are involved in the transmission cycles of numerous pathogens. Additionally, they can affect the abundance of arthropod vectors. Urbanization, landscape and climate changes, and the adaptation of vectors and wildlife to human habitats represent complex and evolving scenarios, which affect the interface of vector, wildlife and human...

Objectives: To describe the clinical signs, laboratory results, therapy and course of disease in dogs with canine granulocytic anaplasmosis in which co-infections had been excluded. Methods: Medical records of dogs naturally infected with Anaplasma phagocytophilum were retrospectively evaluated with regard to clinical signs and laboratory abnorm...

Background: Among hard tick (Acari: Ixodidae) genera, the genus Ixodes Latreille, 1795 contains the highest number of species. Traditionally, this genus was subdivided into different subgenera. In Europe, members of the subgenus Pholeoixodes are usually associated with burrow-dwelling mammals and terrestrial birds. Considering Pholeoixodes spp. fro...

Dogs are a common feeding hosts for Ixodes ricinus and may act as reservoir hosts for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) and as carriers of infected ticks into human settings. The aim of this work was to evaluate the presence of several selected TBPs of significant public health concern by molecular methods in I. ricinus recovered from dogs livin...

Background The mosquito-borne filarial nematodes Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens primarily affect dogs but also cats, causing heartworm disease or subcutaneous dirofilariosis, respectively, and both may also cause zoonotic diseases in humans. Several mosquito species have been reported as competent vectors for these nematodes, but no dat...

It is well known that dog shelters are a common source for parasitic infections in different countries worldwide. The present study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and the frequency of polyparasitism in dogs living in two private shelters in Belgrade, Serbia. For this purpose, 134 faecal samples were exami...

Background: Strongylus vulgaris has become a rare parasite in Germany during the past 50 years due to the practice of frequent prophylactic anthelmintic therapy. To date, the emerging development of resistance in Cyathostominae and Parascaris spp. to numerous equine anthelmintics has changed deworming management and the frequency of anthelmintic us...

The genus Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) includes Gram-negative, small, obligate intracellular, nonmotile, pleomorphic coccobacilli bacteria transmitted by arthropods. Some of them cause human and probably also animal disease (life threatening in some patients). In these guidelines, we give clinical practice advices (microscopy, serolog...

The genera Babesia and Theileria (phylum Apicomplexa, order Piroplasmida) are mainly transmitted by Ixodid ticks in which the sexual part of their life cycle followed by sporogony takes place. They include protozoan parasites that infect erythrocytes of a variety of vertebrate hosts, including domestic and wild animals, with some Babesia spp. also...

The genus Anaplasma (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) comprises obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that are mainly transmitted by ticks, and currently includes six species: Anaplasma bovis, Anaplasma centrale, Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Anaplasma platys, and Anaplasma ovis. These have long been known as etiological ag...

Background: In Europe, hard ticks of the subgenus Pholeoixodes (Ixodidae: Ixodes) are usually associated with burrow-dwelling mammals and terrestrial birds. Reports of Pholeoixodes spp. from carnivores are frequently contradictory, and their identification is not based on key diagnostic characters. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to i...

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a zoonotic tick-borne intracellular bacterium responsible for granulocytic anaplasmosis. As it is difficult to isolate and cultivate, only 20 A. phagocytophilum genomes have been sequenced to date. Here, we present eight A. phagocytophilum genome sequences obtained using alternative approaches based on sequence capture...

Bartonellae cause zoonotic diseases and are transmitted by arthropods. Rodents are reservoirs for most Bartonella spp. As the knowledge about Bartonella in rodents and their parasitizing ectoparasites is scarce in Germany, this study’s objectives were to investigate Bartonella spp. in small mammals and in their ectoparasites. A total of 79 small ma...

By amplification and sequencing of 18S rRNA gene fragments, Hepatozoon spp. DNA was detected in 0.08% (4/5057) and 0.04% (1/2473) of questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from Slovakia and Czech Republic, respectively. Hepatozoon spp. DNA was also detected in spleen and/or lungs of 4.45% (27/606) of rodents from Slovakia. Prevalence of infection was signif...

Rickettsiae are emerging pathogens causing various types of spotted fever and typhus and are mostly transmitted by arthropods to humans and animals. In order to investigate the distribution of Rickettsiae of the spotted fever group (SFG) in small mammals as potential reservoirs and in fleas and ticks from these animals as potential vectors, a total...

Infections with the tick-borne pathogens Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia spp. can cause febrile disease in several mammalian species, including humans. Wild ruminants in Europe are suggested to serve as reservoir hosts for particular strains or species of these pathogens. The aims of this study were to investigate the occurrence of A. phagocy...