Table 2.
Infection prevalence (%) and 95% CIs of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Borrelia miyamotoi, Midichloria mitochondrii, and Rickettsiella spp. in Ixodes ricinus by region and tick-life stage
| Country | Tick life stage tested (n) | Pathogen infection (%) [95% CI] | Symbiont infection (%) [95% CI] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B. burgdorferi s.l | B. miyamotoi | M. mitochondrii | Rickettsiella spp. | ||
| Belgium | Overall infection | 18.4 [16.7–20.1] | 1.6 [1.1–2.3] | 77.9 [75.7–79.4] | 88.6 [87.2–90.0] |
| L | - | - | - | - | |
| N (n = 1,771) | 16.8 [15.1–18.6] | 1.5 [1.0–2.1] | 77.7 [75.7–79.6] | 87.6 [86.0–89.1] | |
| F (n = 126) | 30.9 [23.0–39.8] | 3.2 [0.9–7.9] | 98.4 [94.4–99.8] | 94.4 [88.9–97.7] | |
| M (n = 136) | 28.7 [21.2–37.1] | 2.2 [0.5–6.3] | 61.8 [53.0–70.0] | 96.3 [91.6–98.8] | |
| UK | Overall infection | 7.9 [4.8–12.1] | 0.8 [0.1–3.0] | 48.7 [42.3–55.3] | 47.9 [41.4–54.4] |
| L | - | - | - | - | |
| N (n = 218) | 7.3 [4.2–11.6] | 0.9 [0.1–3.3] | 45.0 [38.2–51.8] | 45.0 [38.2–51.8] | |
| F (n = 22) | 13.6 [2.9–34.9] | 0 [0–15.4] | 86.4 [65.1–97.1] | 77.3 [54.6–92.2] | |
| M | - | - | - | - | |
| Germany | Overall infection | 6.1 [1.7–14.8] | 1.5 [0.03–8.2] | 36.4 [24.9–49.1] | 0 [0–0.5] |
| L | - | - | - | - | |
| N (n = 66) | 6.1 [1.7–14.8] | 1.5 [0.04–8.2] | 36.4 [24.9–49.1] | 0 [0–0.5] | |
| F | - | - | - | - | |
| M | - | - | - | - | |
| Italy | Overall infection | 15.2 [13.3–17.2] | 0.6 [0.2–1.2] | 68.9 [66.4–71.4] | 3.1 [2.2–4.1] |
| L | - | - | - | - | |
| N (n = 1,351) | 14.5 [12.6–16.5] | 0.5 [0.2–1.1] | 69.4 [66.8–71.9] | 2.5 [1.7–3.5] | |
| F (n = 17) | 38.1 [23.6–54.4] | 1.7 [0.04 – 8.4] | 54.8 [38.7–70.2] | 21.4 [10.3–36.8] | |
| M | - | ||||
| The Netherlands | Overall infection | 12.3 [9.9–15.2] | 1.6 [0.9–2.6] | 73.6 [63.0–82.4]* | 61.9 [58.0–65.7] |
| L (n = 367) | 0.3 [0.0 – 1.5] | 1.4 [0.4–3.2] | 84.2 [80.1 – 87.8] | 36.8 [31.8 – 41.9] | |
| N (n = 589) | 11.6 [9.1–14.4] | 1.9 [0.9–3.3] | 74.4 [63.2–83.6] | 62.4 [58.4–66.3] | |
| F (n = 21) | 9.5 [1.2 – 30.4] | 0 [0–16.1] | 100 [54.1–100] | 57.1 [34.0–78.2] | |
| M (n = 22) | 36.4 [17.2–59.3] | 0 [0–15.4] | 0 [0–84.2] | 54.5 [32.2–75.6] | |
| Sweden | Overall infection | 23.0 [17.8–28.9] | 0.9 [0.1–3.0] | 62.1 [55.6–68.4] | 16.2 [11.7–21.5] |
| L | - | - | - | - | |
| N (n = 216) | 23.6 [18.1–29.8] | 0.9 [0.1–3.3] | 63.0 [56.1–69.4] | 14.8[10.4–20.3] | |
| F (n = 10) | 10.0 [0.3–44.5] | 0 [0–30.8] | 100 [66.3–100] | 20.0 [2.5–55.6] | |
| M (n = 9) | 22.2 [2.8–60.0] | 0 [0–30.8] | 0 [0–30.8] | 33.3 [7.5–70.1] |
* Only 87 out of 999 ticks were tested for M. mitochondrii
Note: Names of tick life stage categories were abbreviated: L (larvae), N (nymphs), F (female) and M (male); “-” indicates no specimens were tested for the corresponding tick life stage category