Tick-borne rickettsiae are an important topic in the field of emerging infectious diseases. In the study, we screened a total of 1473 field-collected Ixodes ricinus ticks (1294 nymphs, 99 males, and 80 females) for the presence of human pathogenic rickettsiae (Rickettsia helvetica, R. monacensis, 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis', and Anaplasma phagocytophilum) in natural and urban ecosystems using molecular techniques. The minimum infection rate (MIR) for Rickettsia spp. was found to be 2.9% in an urban park and 3.4% in a natural forest ecosystem; for 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis', we observed MIRs of 0.4% in the city park and 4.4% in the natural habitat, while for A. phagocytophilum the MIR was 9.4% and 1.9%, respectively. Our study provides the first data on the occurrence of human pathogenic rickettsiae in questing I. ricinus ticks in the Czech Republic.

Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences v v i Kvetna 8 603 65 Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences v v i Kvetna 8 603 65 Brno Czech Republic; Masaryk University Department of Experimental Biology Kotlarska 2 611 37 Brno Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

Prevalence of Borrelia and Rickettsia in Ixodes ricinus from Chosen Urban and Protected Areas in Poland and the Czech Republic

Wild Small Mammals and Ticks in Zoos-Reservoir of Agents with Zoonotic Potential?

Presence of Roe Deer Affects the Occurrence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Ecotypes in Questing Ixodes ricinus in Different Habitat Types of Central Europe

Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis in ticks and rodents from urban and natural habitats of South-Western Slovakia

Prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Central Bohemia

Anaplasma phagocytophilum prevalence in ticks and rodents in an urban and natural habitat in South-Western Slovakia

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