A total of 378 adult Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected by flagging vegetation in four localities of two districts (Breclav, Znojmo) in south Moravia and examined microscopically. Borreliae were identified in Giemsa-stained midgut smears from 32 (i.e. 8.5%) ticks (9.4% females, 7.2% males); the infection rate varied between 0.0 and 11.4% in the four localities examined. Among female ticks, significantly more were found to be infected in autumn (19.7%) than in spring (5.8%). Dark-field (DF) and Giemsa-stained smears (GS) examinations were compared for their sensitivity in detecting borreliae in 128 field-collected ticks; GS method showed a little higher sensitivity (11.7% ticks were positive) than DF procedure (9.4% ticks positive). Two strains of Borrelia burgdorferi were isolated from a total of 150 adult I. ricinus ticks cultured in BSK medium.

Institute of Systematical and Ecological Biology Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Brno

Ixodes ricinus and Its Transmitted Pathogens in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas in Europe: New Hazards and Relevance for Public Health

Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of Borrelia spp. isolated from Ixodes ricinus ticks by using electrophoretic chips and real-time polymerase chain reaction

Occurrence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia garinii and Borrelia afzelii in the Ixodes ricinus ticks from Eastern Slovakia