Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Extraction of Saliva, Haemolymph, Salivary Glands, and Midgut from Individual Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)
Published on: October 31, 2025
New records of spotted fever group rickettsiae in Baltic region
Jana Radzijevskaja1, Algimantas Paulauskas1, Asta Aleksandraviciene1
1Vytautas Magnus University, Vileikos 8, LT-44404 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Abstract:
Tick-borne rickettsiae are considered to be emerging, but there is still a lack of data on the occurrence and prevalence of the spotted fever group rickettsiae across Europe, especially in the Baltic countries. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of Rickettsia spp. in Dermacentor reticulatus and Ixodes ricinus ticks, as well as to determine their prevalence in various regions of Lithuania and Latvia. The prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in geographically distinct populations of D. reticulatus on transect Baltic-Adriatic regions was compared. The molecular analyses of 1859 D. reticulatus and 361 I. ricinus from 48 localities in Lithuania and Latvia revealed the presence of Rickettsia raoultii in D. reticulatus and Rickettsia helvetica in I. ricinus. The prevalence of pathogens in D. reticulatus (4.9%) and I. ricinus (17%) ranged in different locations from 0% to 36.9% and 0%-31.3%, respectively. Higher overall infection rates were detected in D. reticulatus collected in Poland (15.8%) and Slovakia (11.4%), with the prevalence range in different locations from 0% to 59.6%. Our study is the first demonstration of the presence of R. raoultii in D. reticulatus ticks in the Baltic countries and R. helvetica in questing I. ricinus ticks in Lithuania.
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Phylum Spirochaetes
Intracellular Movement of Viruses and Bacteria
Bacterial Phylum Chlamydiae
Endocarditis II: Clinical Features of Infective Endocarditis
Rheumatic Heart Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Diversity of Protists I

