Laut einer neuen Studie ist das Risiko, von einer Zecke gebissen zu werden, die mit Bakterien infiziert ist, die Lyme-Borreliose verursachen, in Ohio genauso hoch wie für Menschen in den Nordoststaaten, die seit über 50 Jahren mit Lyme-Borreliose zu kämpfen haben – und das Risiko besteht auch bei Winterwetter.

Abstract published in the Journal of Medical Entomology: [https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaf169](https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaf169)

Abstract text:

The blacklegged tick (*Ixodes scapularis*) is a primary vector of medical concern in the eastern United States, capable of infesting a wide range of hosts. The first established population in Ohio was detected on rural residential properties in Coshocton County and has since expanded across the state. To assess current conditions, these index sites were revisited, and questing ticks were collected between 2019 and 2021, with small mammals sampled in 2021. Ticks and host tissues were screened for *Borrelia burgdorferi* sensu lato, *Borrelia burgdorferi* sensu stricto, *Borrelia mayonii*, and *Anaplasma phagocytophilum*. A total of 654 questing blacklegged ticks and 106 small mammals representing eight species were sampled. White-footed mice (*Peromyscus leucopus*) and eastern chipmunks (*Tamias striatus*) were the most frequently infested hosts. Infection prevalence in ticks was 47.6% for *B. burgdorferi* sensu lato, 42.9% for *B. burgdorferi* sensu stricto, and 15.5% for *A. phagocytophilum*. Six of eight small mammal species tested positive, with infection prevalence of 60.4%, 19.8%, and 11.9% for the same pathogens, respectively. *Borrelia mayonii* was not detected. These infection prevalences are comparable to those reported in long-established Lyme-endemic regions in the northeastern and upper midwestern United States. Findings indicate that the enzootic Lyme disease cycle is now well established in parts of Ohio. Public health agencies should be aware of the increasing risk of tick-borne disease in the region, and these results support the importance of host-targeted interventions to reduce pathogen transmission and human disease risk.

Recently discovered that Lynne disease is not uncommon in rural Sussex, UK.