Co-Occurrence ofSensu Lato andspp. DNA inTicks Collected from Vegetation and Pets in the City of Poznań, Poland.

Abstract

Here, we described the prevalence ofs.l. andspecies found in mono- and double infections amongticks occurring in urban areas of the city of Poznań, Poland. We tested 1029 host-seeking ticks and 1268 engorged ticks removed from pet animals.andprevailed both in ticks from vegetation (3.7% and 3.7%, respectively) and from pets (3.7% and 0.6%, respectively).andwere the most prevalent in host-seeking (2.6% and 1.4%, respectively) and feeding ticks (2.8% and 2.2%, respectively).sequences proved to be identical to the human pathogenicgenotype "Jena/Germany". Sequences of the rarest piroplasm(0.7%) were identical with those isolated from European patients. About 1.0% of tested ticks yielded dual infections; in host-seeking ticks,prevailed in co-infections withand, whereasanddominated in double-infected feeding ticks. Dual infections, even with a low prevalence, pose a challenge for differential diagnosis in patients with acute febrile disease after a tick bite. The finding ofin both tick groups suggests thatcould be involved in the circulation of this piroplasm.