Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38395915›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2024

Frequency of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia spp., and coinfections in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from dogs and cats in Germany.

Julia Probst, Andrea Springer, Volker Fingerle, Christina Strube

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  3. Article
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  5. Article
  6. Current research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2025
    Article
  7. Molecular Identification ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Article
  8. Investigation of Tick-Borne Pathogens inAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Julia ProbstInstitute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Buenteweg 17, 30559, Hanover, Germany.
Andrea SpringerInstitute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Buenteweg 17, 30559, Hanover, Germany.
Volker FingerleNational Reference Centre for Borrelia, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Veterinärstraße 2, 85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany.
Christina StrubeInstitute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Buenteweg 17, 30559, Hanover, Germany. christina.strube@tiho-hannover.de.
University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChanging geographical and seasonal activity patterns of ticks may increase the risk of tick infestation and tick-borne pathogen (TBP) transmission for both humans and animals.

methodsTo estimate TBP exposure of dogs and cats, 3000 female I. ricinus from these hosts were investigated for Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia species.

resultsqPCR inhibition, which was observed for ticks of all engorgement stages but not questing ticks, was eliminated at a template volume of 2 µl. In ticks from dogs, A. phagocytophilum and Borrelia spp. prevalence amounted to 19.0% (285/1500) and 28.5% (427/1500), respectively, while ticks from cats showed significantly higher values of 30.9% (464/1500) and 55.1% (827/1500). Accordingly, the coinfection rate with both A. phagocytophilum and Borrelia spp. was significantly higher in ticks from cats (17.5%, 262/1500) than dogs (6.9%, 104/1500). Borrelia prevalence significantly decreased with increasing engorgement duration in ticks from both host species, whereas A. phagocytophilum prevalence decreased only in ticks from dogs. While A. phagocytophilum copy numbers in positive ticks did not change significantly over the time of engorgement, those of Borrelia decreased initially in dog ticks. In ticks from cats, copy numbers of neither A. phagocytophilum nor Borrelia spp. were affected by engorgement. Borrelia species differentiation was successful in 29.1% (365/1254) of qPCR-positive ticks. The most frequently detected species in ticks from dogs were B. afzelii (39.3% of successfully differentiated infections; 70/178), B. miyamotoi (16.3%; 29/178), and B. valaisiana (15.7%; 28/178), while B. afzelii (40.1%; 91/227), B. spielmanii (21.6%; 49/227), and B. miyamotoi (14.1%; 32/227) occurred most frequently in ticks from cats.

conclusionsThe differences in pathogen prevalence and Borrelia species distribution between ticks collected from dogs and cats may result from differences in habitat overlap with TBP reservoir hosts. The declining prevalence of A. phagocytophilum with increasing engorgement duration, without a decrease in copy numbers, could indicate transmission to dogs over the time of attachment. The fact that this was not observed in ticks from cats may indicate less efficient transmission. In conclusion, the high prevalence of A. phagocytophilum and Borrelia spp. in ticks collected from dogs and cats underlines the need for effective acaricide tick control to protect both animals and humans from associated health risks.

Indexed as

Anaplasma phagocytophilumBorreliaCat DiseasesCoinfectionDog DiseasesIxodesAnimalsCatsDogsFemaleGermanyHumansAnaplasmosisBorreliosisCastor bean tickEngorgementPrevalenceTick-borne diseases

Identifiers

PMID38395915
PMCPMC10893606
OpenAlexW4392111235

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.