Crimean–Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ticks from Kosovo and Albania

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases pose a serious threat to human health in South-Eastern Europe, including Kosovo. While Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a well-known emerging infection in this area, there are no accurate data on Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). Therefore, we sampled and tested 795 ticks. <i>Ixodes ricinus</i> (<i>n</i> = 218), <i>Dermacentor marginatus</i> (<i>n</i> = 98), and <i>Haemaphysalis</i> spp. (<i>n</i> = 24) were collected from the environment by flagging (all from Kosovo), while <i>Hyalomma marginatum</i> (<i>n</i> = 199 from Kosovo, all from Kosovo) and <i>Rhipicephalus bursa</i> (<i>n</i> = 130, 126 from Albania) could be collected only by removal from animal pasture and domestic ruminants. Ticks were collected in the years 2014/2015 and tested for viral RNA of CCHF and TBE viruses, as well as for DNA of <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> sensu lato by real-time PCR. In Kosovo, nine ticks were positive for RNA of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus and seven for DNA of <i>B. burgdorferi</i> s. l. None of the ticks tested positive for TBEV. CCHF virus was detected in one <i>H. marginatum</i> male specimen collected while feeding on grazing cattle from the Prizren region and in eight <i>R. bursa</i> specimens (five females and three males collected while feeding on grazing sheep and cattle) from the Prishtina region (Kosovo). <i>B. burgdorferi</i> s. l. was detected in seven questing ticks (four male and one female <i>D. marginatus</i>, two <i>I. ricinus</i> one female and one male) from the Mitrovica region (Kosovo). Our study confirmed that CCHF virus is circulating in Kosovo mainly in <i>H. marginatum</i> and <i>R. bursa</i> in the central areas of the country. <i>B. burgdorferi</i> s. l. was found in its major European host tick, <i>I. ricinus</i>, but also in <i>D. marginatus</i>, in the north of the Kosovo. In order to prevent the spread of these diseases and better control of the tick-borne infections, an improved vector surveillance and testing of ticks for the presence of pathogens needs to be established.