A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Crowdsourcing-based nationwide tick collection reveals the distribution of Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus and associated pathogens in Finland
Authors: Laaksonen M, Sajanti E, Sormunen JJ, Penttinen R, Hänninen J, Ruohomäki K, Sääksjärvi I, Vesterinen EJ, Vuorinen I, Hytönen J, Klemola T
Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
Publication year: 2017
Journal: Emerging microbes & infections
Journal name in source: EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
Journal acronym: EMERG MICROBES INFEC
Article number: ARTN e31
Volume: 6
Number of pages: 7
ISSN: 2222-1751
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/emi.2017.17
Web address : http://www.nature.com/emi/journal/v6/n5/full/emi201717a.html
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/22095035
A national crowdsourcing-based tick collection campaign was organized in 2015 with the objective of producing novel data on tick distribution and tick-borne pathogens in Finland. Nearly 20 000 Ixodes ticks were collected. The collected material revealed the nationwide distribution of I. persulcatus for the first time and a shift northwards in the distribution of I. ricinus in Finland. A subset of 2038 tick samples containing both species was screened for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (the prevalence was 14.2% for I. ricinus and 19.8% for I. persulcatus), B. miyamotoi (0.2% and 0.4%, respectively) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV; 0.2% and 3.0%, respectively). We also report new risk areas for TBEV in Finland and, for the first time, the presence of B. miyamotoi in ticks from mainland Finland. Most importantly, our study demonstrates the overwhelming power of citizen science in accomplishing a collection effort that would have been impossible with the scientific community alone.
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