k 2022

Does Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato influence tick behavior?

NEJEZCHLEBOVÁ, Helena, Renata HORÁKOVÁ and Alena ŽÁKOVSKÁ

Basic information

Original name

Does Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato influence tick behavior?

Authors

NEJEZCHLEBOVÁ, Helena (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution), Renata HORÁKOVÁ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Alena ŽÁKOVSKÁ (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

10th Tick and Tick-Borne Pathogen Conference, 2022

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

10606 Microbiology

Country of publisher

Romania

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/22:00126732

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

Keywords in English

epidemiological consequences arthropod repellents Ixodes ricinus ticks
Změněno: 18/1/2023 14:42, doc. RNDr. Alena Žákovská, Ph.D.

Abstract

V originále

Numerous studies indicate that pathogens may modify the behavior of infected animal, which may have epidemiological consequences. Manipulating animal behavior by pathogens represents one of the most fascinating issues in zoology. For example, it was proven that animals infected by tick-borne encephalitis virus showed higher activity and tolerance to the DEET-containing repellents (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, a frequently used active ingredient in arthropod repellents). In our experiments the moving-object-bioassay was used to study repellent efficiency on the Ixodes ricinus nymphs captured in the suburban park Pisárky Brno, Czech Republic. Five selected commercial repellents based on DEET (N, N-diethyl-3-thylbenzamide) showed statistically different effects on the non-repellent control group. After this and as well as other studies with repelents we hypothesized that the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the nymphs of Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in the same locality Pisárky Brno affects their response to the essential oil extracted from Curcuma xanthorrhiza, a substance with potentially repellent properties. A sample of 50 nymphs, on which the repellent effect of essential oil (0.005 mg/cm2) was tested, was subsequently analyzed for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato by the PCR method. Based on the statistical evaluation of the results, it can be concluded that the link between the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in ticks and their response to the repellent formulation was not proven.