The occurrence of three tick-borne pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from the area of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Southern Poland)

The common tick Ixodes ricinus is the main vector of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti in Europe. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential risk of exposure to common tick-borne diseases in the recreational areas of the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland, Poland with particular emphasis on the city of Czestochowa. The DNA from 459 I. ricinus ticks was used to detect B. burgdorferi s. l., A. phagocytophilum and B. microti by PCR and nested PCR methods. Generally, infectious agents were found in 26.3% of all the examined ticks: B. microti was found in 23.3%, and A. phagocytophilum in 2.4% of the ticks. The protozoan was found mainly in females and nymphs, while A. phagocytophilum was detected mainly in adults. The co-existence of B. microti and A. phagocytophilum was found in 2.1% of the examined ticks. The presence of B. burgdorferi s. l. was not revealed in the examined material. The conducted studies demonstrate the high potential risk of exposure of tourists and pilgrims to B. microti, and a low risk of exposure to A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi s.l. in the examined areas of the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland. Furthermore, the possible co-existence of A. phagocytophilum and B. microti in 3 individual ticks means that infection by multiple infectious agents is possible. The obtained results highlight the need to conduct further research on tick-borne pathogens in this region of Poland.