Assessment of tick-borne pathogens presence in Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in north-eastern Poland

Abstract Purpose Dermacentor reticulatus is the second most common tick species in Poland after Ixodes ricinus. The aim of the study was to analyze the presence of pathogen DNA in D. reticulatus. Materials and methods Ticks were collected in The Protected Landscape Area of the Bug and Nurzec Valley (52°40′ N and 22°28’ E) between 2016 and 2017. End-point PCR for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp. and Coxiella burnetii detection was performed. Results Tick-borne pathogens’ DNA was detected in 11.3% of 301 ticks: B. burgdorferi s.l. in 3.6%, Babesia spp. in 6.3%, A. phagocytophilum in 0.7% and B. burgdorferi s.l.-Babesia spp. co-infection in 0.7%. In all 21 Babesia spp. positive samples, sequence analysis confirmed the presence of Babesia canis with an 80.3%–98.3% homology with the B. canis sequences in GenBank. C. burnetii, Bartonella spp., and Rickettsia spp. DNA were not detected. Conclusions Dermacentor reticulatus from north-eastern Poland were found to carry three of the most common tick-borne pathogens (B. burgdorferi s.l., Babesia canis, A. phagocytophilum) which lead to single and mixed infections. Babesia canis was the most prevalent pathogen identified in D. reticulatus.