The occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks from Eastern Poland with the use of PCR

Abstract

715 Ixodes ricinus ticks from 4 regions of Lublin macroregion (Piotrowice, Polesie National Park, Dabrowa and Leczynsko-Wlodawskie Lakeland) were examined for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Toxoplasma gondi, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested-PCR methods. The clonal type of samples tested positive for T. gondii was identified by amplification and fragmenting with restrictions enzymes (RFLP-restriction fragment length polymorphism). Positive results were confirmed by sequencing. The overall percentage of tick infection with B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) was 12.7 %, and with T. gondii - 12.6 %. The coincidence of both pathogens was found in 2.4 % of the examined specimens. The highest proportions of infections were detected in females, among all the developmental stages, both in the case of single pathogens (23.5 % of ticks infected with B. burgdorferi s.l., and 19.7% - with T. gondii), and their coincidence (3.8 % of all the tested females). RFLP PCR test detected that type I and atypical (type A) T. gondii strains were most common in ticks. The presence of type II/III was confirmed exclusively in females.

Full text

INTRODUCTION
Toxoplasma gondii infections, like those with Borrelia
spp., are recorded especially among inhabitants of rural
and forest environments. Because Lublin province consists
largely of agricultural and forested lands, exposure of the
local population to those pathogens seems considerable.
Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide disease of many mammals,
including man [16], and still constitutes a serious diagnos-
tic and treatment problem.
The incidence of infections with T. gondii in the hu-
man population differs according to the climate, diet and
sanitary conditions, and reaches from 5%–90%; in the
population of Poland it is estimated at 40%–50%. In the
congenital form, toxoplasmosis may lead to abortion, neo-
natal death, or foetal abnormalities (e.g. ocular damage).
Toxoplasmic encephalitis and disseminated toxoplasmosis
have been observed in persons with immunodeciencies,
such as AIDS patients [64]. Human infections are caused
mainly by genotypes I and II of T. gondii. Type II has been
isolated from patients with congenital toxoplasmosis and
AIDS, whereas type II and III strains are often isolated
from animals [23, 27].
Lyme disease (LD) is a chronic multisymptomatic zoo-
nosis with dermatologic, osteoarticular, neurologic and
organ symptoms. LD is common worldwide and is associ-
THE OCCURRENCE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII AND BORRELIA BURGDORFERI
SENSU LATO IN IXODES RICINUS TICKS FROM EASTERN POLAND
WITH THE USE OF PCR
Jacek Sroka1, 2, Jolanta Szymańska3, Angelina Wójcik-Fatla1
1
Department of Occupational Biohazards, Institute of Agricultural Medicine, Lublin, Poland
2
Department of Parasitology, National Veterinary Research Institute, Puławy, Poland
3
Medical University of Lublin, Poland
Sroka J, Szymańska J, Wójcik-Fatla A: The occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii and
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks from eastern Poland with the use
of PCR. Ann Agric Environ Med 2009, 16, 313–319.
Abstract: 715 Ixodes ricinus ticks from 4 sites of Lublin macroregion (Piotrowice, Pole-
sie National Park, Dąbrowa and Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland) were examined for
the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Toxoplasma gondi, using polymer-
ase chain reaction (PCR) and nested-PCR methods. The clonal type of samples tested
positive for T. gondii was identied by amplication and fragmenting with restrictions
enzymes (RFLP-restriction fragment length polymorphism). Positive results were con-
rmed by sequencing. The overall percentage of tick infection with B. burgdorferi sensu
lato (s.l.) was 12.7%, and with T. gondii – 12.6%. The coincidence of both pathogens
was found in 2.4% of the examined specimens. The highest proportions of infections
were detected in females, among all the developmental stages, both in the case of single
pathogens (23.5% of ticks infected with B. burgdorferi s.l., and 19.7% – with T. gondii),
and their coincidence (3.8% of all the tested females). RFLP PCR test detected that type
I and atypical (type A) T. gondii strains were most common in ticks. The presence of type
II/III was conrmed exclusively in females.
Address for correspondence: Dr Jacek Sroka, Department of Occupational Biohazards,
Institute of Agricultural Medicine, Jaczewskiego 2, 20-090 Lublin, Poland.
E-mail: jack@galen.imw.lublin.pl
Key words: Toxoplasma gondii, Borrelia burgdorferi, ticks, Ixodes ricinus, eastern
Poland, PCR, genotyping, B1 gene.
Received: 3 March 2009
Accepted: 2 July 2009
Ann Agric Environ Med 2009, 16, 313–319
BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS AAEM

314 Sroka J, Szymańska J, Wójcik-Fatla A
ated with areas inhabited by ticks. Borrelia can be hori-
zontally transmitted from all the developmental stages of
ticks to their vertebrate hosts. The co-feeding may play an
important role in horizontal transmission of B. burgdorferi,
creating a threat of the disease transmission to humans.
Wild animals were identied as the pathogen reservoirs,
especially small forest rodents. In the case of wild animals,
the course of disease is chronic, subclinical and sometimes
without any pathological signs [65]. Serological studies
performed in Europe showed that populations exposed
to contact with ticks (forestry workers and farmers) more
often have specic antibodies against B. burgdorferi than
other groups. The annual number of LD cases in Poland is
showing a tendency to increase [40], and in 2008 it reached
2,365.
There is no data concerning the coincidence of two path-
ogens – T. gondii and B. burgdorferii – in ticks. Thus the
objective of this study was to estimate the potential risk
of infection for people in Lublin macroregion (eastern Po-
land) basing on the incidence of those pathogens in ticks,
detected by PCR examination. The present study on the
range of Ixodes ricinus tick infection with T. gondii is a
continuation of the latest research in the selected areas of
West Pomeranian province [59]; it also addresses, as a new
problem, the incidence of confections with two dangerous
pathogens T. gondii and B. burgdorferii.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Tick collection. 715 Ixodes ricinus were collected at 4
sites in the Lublin macroregion: Piotrowice, Łęczyńsko-
Włodawskie Lakeland, Dąbrowa, and the Polesie National
Park. Ticks were harvested by agging in 3 subsequent
vegetation seasons, from April–October, in 2007–2009.
The specimens were placed in test tubes (separately: males,
females and nymphs) and stored live until DNA isolation.
DNA isolation from ticks. DNA was isolated with the
ammonia method [45]. Each adult form separately and
nymphs in pools of 5 were suspended in 100 µl of 0.7 M
ammonia hydroxide in sterile Eppendorf test tubes and trit-
urated. The tubes were closed and kept in a heating block
at 98ºC for 15–20 min. The obtained lysates were stored at
–20ºC for further examination.
Toxoplasma gondii DNA identication with chain
polimerase reaction (PCR) method. The reaction mix-
ture (50 µl) contained: 1.5 U Tag DNA polymerase (Qia-
gen, Syngen Biotech, Wrocław, Poland), 5 µl of the reac-
tion buffer 10× diluted, 0.2 mM dNTPs (Polgen, Łódź,
Poland), 1 µl of each of the primers 10 mM [22]: in the
rst reaction – Pml/S1 (5’-TGTTCTGTCCTATCG-
CAACG) and Pml/AS1 (5’-ACGGATGCAGTTCCTT-
TCTG), and in the second nested-PCR reaction: Pml/S2
(5’-TCTTCCCAGACGTGGATTTC) and Pml/AS2 (5’-
CTCGACAATACGCTGCTTGA) (Eurogentec, Seraing,
Belgium), nuclease-free water (Applied Biosystems, War-
saw, Poland) and 5 µl matrix DNA.
Two-stage PCR reaction consisted of 30 and 20 cycles,
respectively. Each cycle included: the proper denaturation
at 94ºC for 30 sec., primers annealing at 60ºC for 30 sec.
and elongation at 72ºC for 90 sec. The reaction products
of stage I amplication (5 µl) were used at stage II PCR.
Additionally, at each stage, the initial denaturation (2 min.
at 94ºC) and the nal elongation (2 min. at 72ºC), were per-
formed. The 531 bp-long products of the second amplica-
tion were detected in 2% agarose gel (Prona, Basica LE)
after staining in ethidium bromide. The positive control
were the following strains of T. gondii: RH (type I, mouse
virulent), ME49 (type II, mouse avirulent) and C56 (type
III, mouse avirulent). The negative control was nuclease-
free water (Applied Biosystems, Warsaw, Poland) [59].
To identify the clonal type (I or II/III) of the isolated
T. gondii strain, RFLP PCR was performed. The PCR am-
plication products were treated with restriction enzymes:
Eco 721 (substitute for PmII) and XhoI (Fermantas, Viln-
ius, Lithuania), and the reaction products were detected in
2% agarose gel.
DNA sequencing was performed by the DNA Sequencing
and Oligonucleotides Laboratory (Institute of Biochemis-
try and Biophysis, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland). The results were compared to published sequenc-
es in the GenBank database using the BLAST server at the
National Center for Biotechnology Information (Bethesda,
Maryland, USA).
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA identication
with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The
reaction mixture (20 µl) contained: 0.5 U of Tag DNA
polymerase (Qiagen, Syngen Biotech, Wrocław, Poland),
2 µl of reaction buffer 10× diluted, 2 mM of dNTPs (-
nal concentration: 0.05 mM; Fermentas, Lithuania), 400
pmoles of each of the primers: Fla1 (5’-AGAGCAACTTA-
CAGACGAAATTAAT) and Fla2 (5’-CAAGTCTATTTT-
GGAAAGCAC TACA) (Eurogentec, Seraing, Belgium)
complementary to the a gene sequence, nuclease-free
water (Applied Biosystems, Warsaw, Poland), and 2 µl of
matrix DNA [70].
All PCR reactions were performed in PTC-150 thermal cy-
cler (MJ Research Inc., Waltham, USA). Amplication con-
sisted of initial denaturation (3 min. at 95ºC) and 35 ampli-
cation cycles, each including: the proper denaturation at 94ºC
for 30 sec., primers annealing at 54ºC for 45 sec., elongation
at 72ºC for 45 sec., and nal elongation at 72ºC for 7 min.
The 482 bp-long amplication products were detected in
2% agarose gel (Prona, Basica LE) after staining in ethid-
ium bromide.
The positive control was strain B. burgdorferi s.l. Bo-
148c/2 (obtained by courtesy of Dr. habil. Joanna Stańczak,
Interdisciplinary Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medi-
cine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland). Additionally,
the control obtained from the Deaprtment of Biological

Toxoplasma gondii and Borrelia bugdorferii sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks 315
Occupational Hazards, Institute of Agricultural Medicine,
Lublin, Poland, was used.
The negative control was nuclease-free water (Applied
Biosystems, Warsaw, Poland).
Statistical analysis. The data was analysed with chi-
square (χ2) test, using Statistica 8.0 (StatSoft Inc., Tulsa,
OK, USA).
RESULTS
Infection of Ixodes ricinus ticks with Toxoplasma
gondii. The overall percentage of infections in Ixodes
ricinus ticks in Lublin macroregion was 12.6%. The most
frequently infected developmental stage proved to be fe-
males (23.5%). The proportion of infected male ticks was
approximately half as high (13.2%), and the infections
were at the lowest level in nymphs (4.4%). Statistically
signicant differences were found for individual sites in
the Lublin macroregion where the study was conducted.
The majority of tick infections with T. gondii was found in
the Polesie National Park (22.6%), while in the Łęczyńsko-
Włodawskie Lakeland there were less infections (17.0%).
The percentages found in Dąbrowa and Piotrowice were
similar (8.4% and 8.6%, respectively) (Tab. 1). The nested
PCR products were sequence analyzed, which conrmed
that the amplied products were identical with the se-
quence of the T. gondii B1 gene published in GenBank.
Strain typing of Toxoplasma gondii. To identify the
clonal type of T. gondii strain, the nested-PCR reaction
products were treated with restriction enzymes, which al-
lowed to distinguish type I from type II/III. In the examined
samples, the detected levels of type I and atypical genotype
were the same – 45.5% positive test for each type (41 for
each type). Type II/III was found in 8 samples (9.0%), and
only in females (Tab. 2).
Infection of Ixodes ricinus ticks with Borrelia burg-
dorferi sensu lato. The overall percentage of Ixodes ricinus
ticks infections at the studied sites in the Lublin macrore-
gion was 12.7%. The highest proportion of infections was
found in females (19.7%), it was lower in males (13.7%),
and the lowest – in nymphs (7.1%). The majority of in-
fected specimens was found in Dąbrowa (22.6%), while in
the Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland they were the fewest
(4.6%). In Piotrowice and in the Polesie National Park the
proportions of infections with B. burgdorferi sensu lato
were similar (10.1% and 13.0%, respectively) (Tab. 3).
The sequence analysis conrmed that the amplied prod-
ucts PCR were identical with the a gene B. bugdorferi
sequence published in GenBank.
The coincidence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato
and Toxoplasma gondii in Ixodes ricinus ticks in the
Lublin macroregion. The overall percentage of Borrelia
burgdorferi s.l. and Toxoplasma gondii coincidence was
Table 1. Results for various developmental stages of Ixodes ricinus ticks, collected at individual sites, tested for the presence of B1 Toxoplasma gondii gene.
Site Examined ticks
NymphsaMales Females Total
Ni/Ne %bNi/Ne % Ni/Ne % Ni/Ne %
Piotrowice 7/150 4.7 2/54 3.7 13/53 24.5 22/257 8.6
Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland 4/40 10.0 14/57 24.6 8/56 14.3 26/153 17.0
Dąbrowa 1/85 1.2 3/49 6.1 12/56 21.4 16/190 8.4
Polesie National Park 1/20 5.0 9/52 17.3 16/43 37.2 26/115 22.6
Total 13/295 4.4 28/212 13.2 49/208 23.5* 90/715 12.6
Ni (number of infected ticks); Ne (number of examined ticks); *signicantly greater compared to males and nymphs: p<0.05 and p<0.0001 respectively
(χ2 test); a examined in pools, b minimum infection rate.
Table 2. Results of T. gondii genotype analysis (RFLP-PCR) of positive samples obtained directly from Ixodes ricinus ticks.
Site T. gondii genotype
NymphsaMales Females Total
I II/III A I II/III A I II/III A I II/III A
Piotrowice 2 0 5 1 0 1 7 0 6 10 0 12
Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie
Lakeland
4 0 0 7 0 7 3 2 3 14 2 10
Dąbrowa 1 0 0 2 0 1 6 3 3 9 3 4
Polesian National Park 1 0 0 4 0 5 3 3 10 8 3 15
Total 8 0 5 14 0 14 19 8 22 41 8 41
a examined in pools, A – atypical genotype.

316 Sroka J, Szymańska J, Wójcik-Fatla A
2.4%. The highest proportion of coinfections was recorded
in Dąbrowa (in 3.1% of ticks collected in this district), the
lowest – in the Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland (1.3%).
Among 715 examined specimens, similar percentages of
infections with one pathogen were detected (10.3% for
B. burgdorferi s.l. and 10.2% for T. gondii) (Tab. 4).
The highest percentage of coinfections was found in females
(3.8%), the lowest – in males (1.4%). The level of coincidence
of the 2 pathogenes in the examined nymphs was 2.0% (Tab. 5).
DISCUSSION
T. gondii is a parasitic protozoan widespread in the envi-
ronment. The presence of T. gondii oocysts was conrmed,
eg. in water samples [34, 35, 58]. It is generally believed
that humans are infected with T. gondii usually by eating
raw or half-cooked meat with the protozoan cysts, or food
contaminated with faeces of an infected cat [16, 64]. How-
ever, a high incidence of T. gondii found, among others, in
free-living ruminants suggests a possibility of other, so far
unknown, paths of transmission of this protozoan. Infec-
tion with T. gondii is usually asymptomatic, but it may be
dangerous during pregnancy and in immunocompromised
patients, leading to congenital defects in a foetus or abnor-
malities concerning many systems (eg. in AIDS patients).
Because the incidence of T. gondii infections in humans and
in animals (including farm animals) is high, it is important
to identify potential sources and pathways of infection with
this protozoan. Our own study results and the literature [16,
17, 56, 60, 64] indicate that infection with T. gondii can
constitute a serious epidemiological problem, especially in
the rural environment where various transmission paths of
the protozoan intersect. Due to the fact that they are wide-
spread, and tick-bites occur frequently both in humans and
in animals, ticks might play an important role in toxoplas-
mosis transmission. This pathway has been suggested by
some authors [7, 8, 12, 13, 20, 50, 59, 71], while others
were of different opinion [6, 21, 31]. Possible transmission
of T. gondii ticks seems to be conrmed by the results of
experimental tests [13], where T. gondii was transmitted by
nymphs during interrupted feeding on mice. This possibil-
ity was also preliminarily corroborated in our own study,
where T. gondii DNA was found in mice tissues inoculated
with homogenate of ticks harvested from the natural envi-
ronment [59].
The percentage of tick infections with T. gondii (12.6%)
found in Lublin macroregion is comparable to that (12.7%)
obtained in the study conducted in the West Pomeranian
province [59], and much higher than the proportion de-
tected in the Lublin province in earlier studies (2.2% of
92 examined specimens) [57]. Three (type I, II and III) of
T. gondii genotypes play the main role in pathogenesis in
humans and animals. In the Lublin macroregion, the ticks
tested positive for T. gondii proved to represent type I and
type A (atypical genotype) (45.5% of all positive results
for each type). In a 2008 study, in ticks harvested from the
Table 4. Number of Ixodes ricinus ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Toxoplasma gondii, at various sites in Lublin macroregion.
Site Numer of pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks
No pathogens 1 pathogen 2 pathogens Total
Borrelia burgdorferi
sensu lato
Toxoplasma gondii Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato
+ Toxoplasma gondii
Piotrowice 215 (83.7%) 20 (7.8%) 16 (6.2%) 6 (2.3%) 257 (100%)
Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie
Lakeland
122 (79.7%) 5 (3.3%) 24 (15.7%) 2 (1.3%) 153 (100%)
Dąbrowa 137 (72.1%) 37 (19.5%) 10 (5.3%) 6 (3.1%) 190 (100%)
Polesie National Park 77 (67.0%) 12 (10.4%) 23 (20.0%) 3 (2.6%) 115 (100%)
Total 551 (77.1%) 74 (10.3%) 73 (10.2%) 17 (2.4%) 715 (100%)
Table 3. Results for various developmental stages of Ixodes ricinus ticks, collected at individual sites, tested for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi
sensu lato a gene.
Site Developmental forms of Ixodes ricinus ticks
NymphsaMales Females Total
Ni/Ne %bNi/Ne % Ni/Ne % Ni/Ne %
Piotrowice 8/150 5.3 7/54 13.0 11/53 20.7 26/257 10.1
Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland 0/40 0.0 1/57 1.7 6/56 10.7 7/153 4.6
Dąbrowa 11/85 12.9 13/49 26.5 19/56 34.0 43/190 22.6*
Polesie National Park 2/20 10.0 8/52 15.4 5/43 11.6 15/115 13.0
Total 21/295 7.1 29/212 13.7 41/208 19.7 91/715 12.7
Ni (number of infected ticks); Ne (number of examined ticks); * signicantly greater compared to Piotrowice and Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland,
and Polesie National Park: p<0.001 and p<0.05 respectively (χ2 test); a examined in pools, b minimum infection rate.

Toxoplasma gondii and Borrelia bugdorferii sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks 317
environs of Szczecin, type I clearly prevailed (78.8%). To
corroborate transmission pathways and sources of infec-
tion for people living in a given area, it would be advisable
to compare the clonal type of the parasite isolated from
patients with active toxoplasmosis, with that of the parasite
isolated from the environment, among others, from ticks
themselves. This, however, requires, further studies.
Ixodes ricinus is the most common species of ticks both in
Poland and in Europe, and it plays the key role in epidemiol-
ogy of Lyme borreliosis as vector and reservoir of B. burg-
dorferi spirochetes [69]. To-date, studies show that the inci-
dence of tick infections with Borrelia spp. reaches, eg., 22%
in Slovakia [36], 18% in Germany [39], and 9.3% in Spain
[3]. In Poland, the average percentage of ticks infected with
Borrelia spp. varies from 5.4%–12.4% [10]. The present
detected proportion of infections (12.7%) is higher than the
result obtained for the Lublin macroregion in 2006 (5.4%),
which may be due to the number of examined nymphs that
presented the lowest level of infections with B. burgdorferi
[10, 72]. The results of tick examination may be reected
in serological tests on persons occupationally exposed to
tick bites (e.g. forestry workers and farmers). In European
countries, the proportion of forestry workers with antibodies
against B. burgdorferi is 30% in Germany [46], 12.8% in
Slovakia [5], and 7.5% in Italy [47]. In Poland, the average
level of positive results reaches 30%–40% [9, 73].
Ixodes ricinus ticks, are not only the vector and reser-
voir for bacteria, but also for viruses (eg. viral tick-borne
encephalitis) and protozoa. The latter include Babesia spp.
– the pathogen phylogenetically related to other genera of
protozoa, such as Toxoplasma or Plasmodium, belonging
to the Apicomplexa type [28].
In recent years, an increasing number of tick coinfec-
tions with various pathogens, among others with Borrelia
burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia micro-
ti, has been detected [32, 61]. The incidence of mixed in-
fections transmitted by Ixodes ricinus is a phenomenon of
great epidemiological importance and can affect the course
of diseases caused by the transmitted pathogens [48, 63].
The percentage of B. burgdorferi and T. gondii coinfec-
tions, found in the present study, was 2.4%, and was higher
that the proportion of coincidence of B. burgdorferi with
other pathogens detected both in Poland (Lublin macrore-
gion) and in other countries. The coincidence of Borrelia
spirochetes and A. phagocytophilum was identied in
1.0% of the examined specimens, while the coincidence
with B. microti – in 0.2% of the ticks. Coinfection with
three pathogens: B. burgdorferi s.l., A. phagocytophilum
and B. microti in Lublin macroregion was 2.2% [72]. In
Germany the coincidence of B. burgdorferi and A. phago-
cytophilum reached the level of 0.7% to 0.8% [26, 43],
in Moldova – 2.5% [32], and in the Netherlands – from
1.6%–2.0% [52, 69]. The percentage of double tick infec-
tions with B. burgdorferi s.l. and B. microti reached 1%
in the Netherlands [24], 0.5% in Italy [42], and 0.9% in
Russia [1].
The phenomenon of coinfection should be approached
holistically in a given ecosystem, and the reservoir of path-
ogens – not only their vector – should be considered. In
every ecosystem, there are usually several pathogens, or
conditionally pathogenic microorganisms, which can form
micropopulations (parasitocenoses) in individual ticks. The
transmission of pathogens in a given area is determined by
the activity of the local tick-hosting animal species [29,
33, 51].
Reservoir hosts for Borrelia spirochetes are vertebrate
species able to preserve the pathogenic factor, thus becom-
ing a long-lasting source of infection for ticks feeding on
them. In Europe those species include mainly small mam-
mals and birds that play a particular role in spreading both
ticks themselves and pathogens, as their vectors [54, 55].
Most large mammals are not B. burgdorferi s.l. reservoir,
although their part in the circulation of this microorgan-
ism in nature cannot be ruled out. An important role may
be played by domestic animals, especially dogs which can
show clinical symptoms of borreliosis [53]. Reservoir hosts
for T. gondii among wild animals are eg. boars, which was
conrmed by research in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and
Spain [2, 4, 19]. The protozoan was also detected in the
cervids, among others, in deers, roes and elks [68]. It is
also not excluded that small mammals [25] and birds [15]
play a part as T. gondii reservoir. The protozoan was identi-
ed in all species of farm animals, among which pigs are
epidemiologically most important as a potential source of
infection for humans, due to widespread consumption of
pork [38, 49]. Serological tests showed that the proportion
of infected pigs in Poland and in Europe varies according
to the farming type and zoohygienic conditions [14, 41,
Table 5. Number of Ixodes ricinus ticks at various developmental stages infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Toxoplasma gondii in Lublin
macroregion.
Stage Number of pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks
No pathogens 1 pathogen 2 pathogens Total
Borrelia burgdorferi
sensu lato
Toxoplasma gondii Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato +
Toxoplasma gondii
Nymphs 267 (90.5%) 15 (5.1%) 7 (2.4%) 6 (2.0%) 295 (100%)
Males 158 (74.5%) 26 (12.3%) 25 (11.8%) 3 (1.4%) 212 (100%)
Females 126 (60.6%) 33 (15.9%) 41 (19.7%) 8 (3.8%) 208 (100%)
Total 551 (77.1%) 74 (10.3%) 73 (10.2%) 17 (2.4%) 715 (100%)

318 Sroka J, Szymańska J, Wójcik-Fatla A
56, 60, 64, 66]. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were also indeti-
ed in sheep [18, 62, 67] and in cattle [30]. Farm animals
with T. gondii parasitemia may be a potential source of
infection for ticks, contributing to broader spreading of in-
fection onto further animals and humans.
On the basis of numerous studies, multiple coinfections
were also found in free-living mammals, deer, and tick-
hosting birds [44]. Ticks can thus be infected with various
pathogens, both during a single bite of those hosts and be-
come infected during the subsequent developmental stages
[11, 37].
Examination of ticks to detect multiple infections in a
given ecosystem can help to predict such coinfections in
humans, which is of great importance for the correct diag-
nosis and prophylactics of tick-borne diseases. When dis-
ease symptoms are unclear, knowledge of the area where a
patient was bitten and of the local endemic foci, can be use-
ful, making the identication of a pathogenic factor much
more likely.
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