Seroprevalence of seven pathogens transmitted by the Ixodes ricinus tick in forestry workers in France

Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Available online 26 May 2016

In Press, Accepted Manuscript — Note to users

Original Article

• Emma Rigaud^{1, ,} ,
• Benoît Jaulhac²,
• Nathalie Garcia-Bonnet³,
• Klaus-Peter Hunfeld⁴,
• Françoise Femenia⁵,
• Dominique Huet⁵,
• Claire Goulvestre⁵,
• Véronique Vaillant⁶,
• Gaëtan Deffontaines¹,
• Geneviève Abadia-Benoist⁷

• ¹ Caisse Centrale de la Mutualité Sociale Agricole, Direction santé sécurité au travail, Bagnolet, France
• ² EA7290 Virulence Bactérienne Précoce, Centre National de Référence des Borrelia, Groupe d’Etude de la Borréliose de Lyme (GEBLY), Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Institut de Bactériologie, Université de Strasbourg, CHRU Strasbourg, 3 rue Koeberlé, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
• ³ Hôpital Avicenne, Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, formerly Caisse Centrale de la Mutualité Sociale Agricole, Bobigny, France
• ⁴ Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Northwest Medical Center, Academic Teaching Hospital, School of Medicine, The Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany
• ⁵ INRA, UMR BIPAR, INRA, Anses, ENVA, Maisons-Alfort, France
• ⁶ Institut de Veille Sanitaire, Saint-Maurice, France
• ⁷ AFOMETRA, formerly Caisse Centrale de la Mutualité Sociale Agricole, Paris, France

Received 4 February 2016, Revised 13 May 2016, Accepted 14 May 2016, Available online 26 May 2016

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doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2016.05.014

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Abstract

In order to assess the level of occupational exposure to the main pathogens transmitted by the Ixodes ricinus tick, a seroprevalence study was performed on serum samples collected in 2003 from 2,975 forestry workers of North-Eastern France. The global seroprevalence estimated for the seven pathogens studied was 14.1% (419/2,975) for B. burgdorferi sl, 5.7% (164/2,908) for F. tularensis, 2.3% (68/2,941) for TBEV, 1.7% (50/2,908) for A. phagocytophilum, and 1.7% (48/2,908) for B. henselae. The seroprevalence of B. divergens and B. microti studied in a subgroup of subjects seropositive for at least one of these latter pathogens was 0.1% (1/810) and 2.5% (20/810) respectively. B. burgdorferi sl seroprevalence was significantly higher in Alsace and Lorraine and F. tularensis seroprevalence was significantly higher in Champagne-Ardenne and Franche-Comté. The results of this survey also suggest low rates of transmission of B. henselae and F. tularensis by ticks and a different West/East distribution of Babesia species in France. The frequency and potential severity of these diseases justify continued promotion of methods of prevention of I. ricinus bites.

Keywords

• France;
• Ixodes ricinus;
• occupational exposure;
• seroprevalence;
• zoonotic agents

Corresponding author. Les Mercuriales, 40 rue Jean Jaurès, 93547 Bagnolet cedex. Tel.: +(33) 141 63 75 76; fax: +(33) 141 63 72 46.

© 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.