Host-feeding behaviour of Dermacentor reticulatus and Dermacentor marginatus in mono-specific and inter-specific infestations

BACKGROUND: Given the sympatric occurrence in some regions of Europe and the great epidemiological significance of D. reticulatus and D. marginatus species, we investigated the behaviour of these ticks during inter-specific and mono-specific host infestations. FINDINGS: The investigations were conducted on rabbits at 20 ± 3 °C and humidity of 38 ± 1 %. The inter-specific infestations groups consisted of 20 females and ten males of D. marginatus and 20 females and ten males of D. reticulatus on each host, whereas mono-specific infestations involved 40 females and 20 males of each species. The investigations have demonstrated competition between the two tick species resulting in modification of the behaviour on the host and the feeding course in D. marginatus females by the presence of D. reticulatus. In the inter-specific group, D. marginatus females attached for a longer time (mean 2.74 ± 1.12 h) than in the mono-specific group (mean 1.24 ± 0.97 h) (p < 0.0001). The feeding period of these females was shorter (9.45 ± 1.30 days) than in the mono-specific group (13.15 ± 2.53 days) (p < 0.0001), but they exhibited a statistically significantly higher body weight in comparison with the females from the mono-specific infestation (p = 0.0155). In D. reticulatus females, no significant difference was found in the host attachment and feeding rates between the mono-specific and inter-specific groups. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in the behaviour of the females from both species during co-feeding reflect physiological adaptation to environmental conditions, which enables them to ingest blood and reproduce. During co-feeding of D. reticulatus and D. marginatus on the same host, two inter-specific systems with different physiological features are formed, which may influence the transmission of tick-borne pathogens

The striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) as a host of fleas (Siphonaptera) and tapeworms (Cestoda) in suburban environment of Lublin (eastern Poland)

The striped field mouse, Apodemus agrarius, is one of the most abundant species among small rodents in Poland. It occurs commonly across the whole country inhabiting diverse ecological niches as meadows, farmlands, enclaves of natural habitats in cities. Wide range of ecological tolerance of this species makes it often the host, reservoir and vector of many pathogens: viruses, bacteria, protozoa, helminths and arthropods.&nbsp;The aim of the present study was to carry out a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the fleas community and intestinal tapeworms of A. agrarius in suburban environment of Lublin (eastern Poland). In studied population three species of Siphonaptera class i.e. Ctenophthalmus agyrtes, Nosopsyllus fasciatus, Hystrichopsylla talpae and one intestine Cestoda species Hymenolepis diminuta were identified. The results of our researches confirmed role of A. agrarius as the reservoir for tapeworms and host for fleas in urban environment. High level of the prevalence of fleas and tapeworms in rodents indicates the significant degree of contamination and can cause an epidemiological threat for human’s health

Factors influencing the distribution and activity of Dermacentor reticulatus (F.) ticks in an anthropopressure-unaffected area in central-eastern Poland

Introduction and objectives Despite the increasing prevalence and significant role of D. reticulatus in pathogen transmission, the factors influencing its distribution and activity are still poorly known. The paper presents for the first time a study of the D. reticulatus ecology in a protected area, in which the dependence of D. reticulatus occurrence and activity on the ecological habitat type is analysed. Material and Methods Tick collection and environmental monitoring were conducted from March – November 2012 and 2014 in five ecologically-diverse habitats in the Polesie National Park of central-eastern Poland. Results The study shows that the most beneficial habitats for D. reticulatus are provided by meadow ecosystems dominated by plants from the class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea: Poa pratensis, P. trivialis , Festuca rubra , F. pratensis , and Alopecurcus pratensis , as well as Carex sp. sedges (64.78% of the tick collections). Less favourable conditions are offered by the fresh habitat covered by deciduous forest with dominance of Betula sp., A. pratensis , and Carex sp. sedges (15.27%), in the wet habitat dominated by Alnus glutinosa and Urtica dioica (9.00%), Betula humilis , Salix sp., and Carex sp. (8.44%), and in the subcontinental hornbeam forest Tilio-Carpinetum with poor undergrowth (2.50%). D. reticulatus avoids wet habitats with bog birch Betuletum pubescientis communities and moist pine forest Molinio-Pineteum , as well as habitats dominated by heather Calluna vulgaris . Conclusions The distribution and dynamics of the activity of adult D. reticulatus depends on the biological and geoclimatic conditions prevailing in tick habitats. The structure of the flora colonising a habitat may be an indicator of the presence of this tick species

Head pediculosis in schoolchildren in the eastern region of the European Union

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of head pediculosis among children from state primary schools in the villages and towns in eastern Poland, one of the poorest regions of the European Union. Material and Methods The study was conducted in 2009–2012 in 30 rural and urban State schools. Current and previous results (1996–2000) of examinations performed in the study area were compared. The impact of socioeconomic factors on the prevalence of head pediculosis in eastern Poland in the period of 16 years was analysed. Results Pediculosis was diagnosed in 2.01% of the schoolchildren, more frequently in pupils from rural (3.52%) than urban (0.98%) schools. Lice infestation was higher in girls (59.52%) than in boys (40.48%). The risk of pediculosis in children increased in schools that did not employ a nurse (mean 5.07%) and decreased when a part-time (mean 2.96%) or full-time nurse (mean 1.01%) was employed. The incidence of pediculosis doubled despite the improvement in the socioeconomic status of the population observed within the last 16 years. Conclusions The results indicate that personal hygiene behaviour may be of key importance in determining the spread of the disease

和仏法律学校講義録

Wstęp: Bogata symptomatologia oraz złożona etiopatogeneza zespołu stymulatorowego (PS) wymagają, oprócz dokładnego wywiadu (część I) oraz 24-godzinnego badania EKG i ciśnienia tętniczego krwi (część II), zastosowania również innych metod badawczych pozwalających na ocenę stwierdzanych w PS zaburzeń hemodynamicznych, elektrofizjologicznych lub hormonalno-biochemicznych. Ocena hemodynamiczna serca w badaniu echokardiograficznym, jak również ustalenie obecności wstecznego przewodzenia komorowo-przedsionkowego (VA) w zapisie przezprzełykowym EKG (EKG-P) pozwalają na precyzyjniejszą diagnostykę zespołu stymulatorowego. Nieprawidłowa relacja czasowa pomiędzy skurczem przedsionków i komór i związany z tym wzrost ciśnienia krwi w przedsionkach ze wzmożonym napinaniem ich ścian prowadzi do zwiększonego wydzielania hormonu natriuretycznego (ANP). W związku z tym oznaczanie poziomu cGMP w surowicy chorych jako drugiego przekaźnika ANP na poziomie komórkowym umożliwia dodatkową ocenę hemodynamiki serca. Cel pracy: Celem pracy było określenie przydatności badań echokardiograficznego, EKG-P i oznaczania cGMP w diagnostyce PS oraz ocena korzyści hemodynamicznych przy zmianie sposobu stymulacji z VVI na DDD. Materiał i metody: Badaniami objęto 24 osoby (17 kobiet i 7 mężczyzn), których charakterystyka kliniczna jest opisana w I części pracy. Wyniki: Stwierdzono wybitnie znamienny (p < 0,001) spadek średniej wartości frakcji wyrzutowej (EF) o 18% w czasie stymulacji jednojamowej VVI w stosunku do dwujamowej DDD. Obserwowano także znamienne o 30% obniżenie wskaźnika sercowego (CI) w czasie stymulacji VVI w porównaniu z DDD (p < 0,01). Wartości wymiaru lewego przedsionka nie różniły się w obu typach stymulacji. Obecność wstecznego przewodzenia VA rejestrowano u 75% badanych (18 chorych). Czas wstecznego przewodzenia VA wahał się między 110-280 ms (średnio 192 &plusmn; 49 ms). Z analizy stężenia cGMP wynika, że najwyższe stężenie stwierdzono u chorych w czasie stymulacji VVI, a najmniejsze w grupie kontrolnej z rytmem zatokowym (p < 0,001). Wnioski: Badania echokardiograficzne i EKG-P są przydatnymi, nieinwazyjnymi metodami badania w diagnostyce PS. Istotnym elementem patogenetycznym i diagnostycznym PS jest stała lub okresowa obecność wstecznego przewodzenia VA. Radioimmunologiczne oznaczanie poziomu cGMP w surowicy krwi i jego 2,5-krotny wzrost w stosunku do wartości przyjętej za normę jest cennym badaniem uzupełniającym rozpoznanie zespołu stymulatorowego

Prevalence of infections and co-infections with 6 pathogens in <i>Dermacentor reticulatus</i> ticks collected in eastern Poland

Occurrence of co-infections with various pathogens in ixodid ticks creates a risk of increased severity of tick-borne diseases in humans and animals exposed to bite of the ticks carrying multiple pathogens. Accordingly, co-infections in ticks were subject of numerous analyses, but almost exclusively with regard to Ixodes ricinus complex whereas potential tick vectors belonging to other genera were much less studied. Taking into consideration the role of Dermacentor reticulatus in the transmission of various pathogens, we carried out for the first time the comprehensive statistical analysis of co-infections occurring in this tick species. An attempt was made to determine the significance of the associations between 6 different pathogens occurring in D. reticulatus (Tick-borne encephalitis virus = TBEV, Anaplasma phagocytophilum , Rickettsia raoultii , Borrelia burgdorferi s. l., Babesia spp., Toxoplasma gondii ), using 2 statistical methods: determination of Odds Ratios (ORs) and the Fisher’s exact test. 634 questing Dermacentor reticulatus ticks (370 females and 264 males) were collected in 2011– 2013 by flagging the lower vegetation in 3 localities in the area of Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland, situated in the Lublin region of eastern Poland. The presence of individual pathogens was detected by PCR. Ticks were infected most often with Rickettsia raoultii (43.8%), less with TBEV (8.5%), and much less with Babesia spp., Toxoplasma gondii , Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (2.5%, 2.1%, 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively). The locality-dependent variability proved to be significant for TBEV (χ 2 =11.063; P=0.004) and Toxoplasma gondii (χ 2 =11.298; P=0.0035), but not for other pathogens. Two hundred seventy (42.6%) of the examined ticks were infected only with a single pathogen, and 54 (8.5%) showed the presence of dual co-infections, each with 2 pathogens. The most common were dual infections with participation of Rickettsia raoultii (7.41%); next, those with participation of the TBEV (5.21%), Toxoplasma gondii (1.58%), Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (1.26%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.95%), and Babesia spp. (0.63%). On the total number of 15 possible associations, in 9 cases co-infections occurred whereas in 6 cases they were not detected. The most noteworthy were positive co-infections with the participation of TBEV, which proved to be weakly significant (0.05&lt;P&lt;0.1) in associations with Toxoplasma gondii and Anaplasma phagocytophilum , with Odds Ratios over 3.3 and 4.4, respectively. The values of Odds Ratios exceeded 3.0 also at the co-infections of Rickettsia raoultii with B. burgdorferi s.l., and T. gondii with Babesia spp., but these associations did not attain a significance level. The co-infections of Rickettsia raoultii with Babesia spp. appeared not to be significant (0.05&lt;P&lt;0.1) with OR below 0.3. In conclusion, co-infections with various pathogens in D. reticulatus ticks seem to be relatively rare and mostly not significant

Novel algorithm for arrhythmogenic focus localization in patients with right ventricular outflow tract arrhythmias

Background: Previously presented new electrocardiography (ECG) algorithm for localization of arrhythmogenic focus (AFo) in right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) was based on spontaneous arrhythmia QRS morphology analysis. The aim of this study was to estimate the clinical value of our RVOT algorithm in a prospective study.Methods and results: Algorithm validation was made on 62 patients with RVOT arrhythmias (45 women), mean age 41.6 ± 14.3 years, scheduled for transcatheter ablation. Results of preablation ECG analysis with RVOT algorithm were matched with successful ablation sites and statistical indices: sensitivity (sens), specificity (spec), and positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) were calculated for algorithm and for each of 9 RVOT zones (septal and free wall). An algorithm precisely localized AFo in 57 out of 62 patients (sens 91.3%, spec 99%, PPV 91%, NPV 98.8%). Sensitivity values for superior RVOT aspect (71% patients) varied from 88% to 100%, specificity from 95.9% to 100%; PPV values from 85.7% to 100%, NPV from 92.5% to 100%. Although the total number of patients was relatively small in the 2 remaining RVOT aspects (29% patients) high values (sens, spec, PPV, NPV) were gained for intermediate and inferior zones.Conclusions: On the basis of spontaneous arrhythmia QRS analysis, a novel algorithm was built for preablation localization of RVOT arrhythmia in 1 of the 9 RVOT zones. Prospective analysis of our ECG algorithm confirmed that it is a valuable tool to predict the site of successful ablation in patients with RVOT arrhythmias.

Izotopowe określenie prawidłowych wartości perfuzji mięśni kończyn dolnych w spoczynku i wysiłku z uwzględnieniem możliwości ich zastosowania w diagnostyce klinicznej

Background: The lack of a range of normal values of perfusion in the lower limbs during stress and at rest narrows the use of this type of diagnostic tool to the estimation of the current state of relative perfusion without indications of the presence or level of perfusion disturbances. Numerous reports on early changes in endothelium reactivity (depending on disease and degree of vessel pathology) encouraged us to assess lower limb perfusion in healthy people. Our goal was to 1) work out a program and method which would enable lower limb perfusion assessment under stress and at rest in patients without signs of lower limb circulation deprivation and 2) establish the normal range of indexes of lower limb perfusion under stress and at rest which would enable their use in the diagnostics of lower limb muscle circulation. Material and Methods: 33 male patients aged between 25 to 45 years (mean: 35.30 ± 6.04) without signs of circulatory problems were entered into the study. To exclude circulatory disturbances, Doppler USG, blood pressure, and laboratory tests were performed on every patient at rest 5 min. after the injection of 11.1 MBq/kg 99 mTc MIBI. Whole body as well as thigh and calf scintigrams were made with an ELSCINT SP6HR gamma-camera. The symmetry of the thigh and calf perfusion (WSU, WSP) and the indexes of the thigh (WPLU, WPPU) and calf (WPLP, WSPP) perfusion of both lower limbs were estimated. Results: At rest: WSP: 96.47% ± 1.02, WSP: 96.47% ± 1.02, WPLP: 9.77 ± 0.32, WPPP: 9.78 ± 0.31, WPLU: 8.45 ± 0.22, WPPU: 8.48 ± 0.22. Under stress: WSP: 96.69% ± 1.32, WSU: 96.41% ± 1.20, WPLP: 8.78 ± 0.26, WPPP: 8.81 ± 0.25, WPLU: 7.77 ± 0.25, WPPU: 7.82 ± 0.26. Anamnesis, additional studies, and laboratory tests in the group examined did not show any circulatory disturbances. Conclusions: The estimated values in patients without circulatory disturbances are similar and within a narrow range, which allows us to calculate the norms of lower limb perfusion at rest and under stress. The determined normal values may be essential in diagnostics in permitting differentiation of healthy patients from those with vascular pathology of the lower limb circulation at an early stage