Ecology of ticks and tick borne agents in the Northern Apennines, Tuscany, Italy.

The Northern Apennines are a mountain range dividing continental, and peninsular Italy. Major land use changes occurred in the last decades, with the abandon of traditional farming. Reforestation was accompanied by predominance of high-stand beech forests, with thick leaf litter and abundant mast production. Wild ungulates were reintroduced in the 1970’s and underwent a remarkable, recent population increase. Indeed, Tuscany is among the European areas where the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) underwent the greatest population increase. Touristic activities in mountain areas had also been growing in recent times. Ixodid ticks which have been collected from the environment, animal hosts, and people included Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor margintus, Haemaphysalis punctata, H. sulcata, I. trianguliceps, Pholeoixodes hexagonus, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. I. ricinus was previously absent above 1200 m of altitude, but it was recently found, by dragging and on wild rodents, up to 1700 m. Several genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were found in I. ricinus and in wild rodents, including B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. lusitaniae whose association with certain vertebrate hosts remains to be clarified. Tick-borne lymphadenopathy (TIBOLA) was reported in people in the study area, and the causative agent, Rickettsia slovaca, was detected in wild rodents. Aggregation of immature D. marginatus on individual hosts might favor the potential role of Apodemus spp. in the amplification of R. slovaca. H. punctata was associated with warm and relatively dry habitat, on the Southern slopes of the Apennines. An increase in the abundance of this tick species was demonstrated by dragging. However, vertebrate hosts such as rodents were most often infested by D. marginatus and I. ricinus, whereas lizards were predominantly infested by H. sulcata as well as by I. ricinus.