Meta-Analysis of Co-Infections in Ticks
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Microbial infections typically do not occur in isolation but co-occur within diverse communities of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and viruses. Co-infections can lead to increased disease severity, lead to selection for increased virulence, and complicate disease diagnosis and treatment. Co-infections also occur in disease vectors, and represent one source of co-infections in hosts. We examined patterns of co-infections in ticks (Order Acari), which vector diverse human and wildlife pathogens, and asked whether the frequency of microbial co-infections deviated significantly from independent associations. Most published data were from Ixodes species and reported infection and co-infection frequencies of Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. A total of 18 datasets representing 4978 adult ticks met our criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Significant deviations from independent co-infection were detected in eight of the 18 populations. Five populations exhibited a significant excess of A. phagocytophilum/B. burgdorferi co-infections, including all populations of I. ricinus that deviated from independence. In contrast, both populations of I. persulcatus and one of two populations of I. scapularis exhibited a significant deficit of co-infection. The single population of I. pacificus examined had a significant excess of co-infection. Our meta-analyses indicate that tick-borne microbes are often distributed non-randomly, but the direction of deviation was not consistent, indicating that multiple mechanisms contribute to these patterns. Unfortunately, most published studies were not designed to describe patterns of co-infection, and provided insufficient data for our meta-analysis. Future studies should more explicitly measure and report co-infections in ticks, including co-infections by endosymbionts.
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Meta-Analysis of Co-Infections in Ticks
In: Israel Journal of Ecology and EvolutionSearch for other papers by David J. Civitello in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Evelyn Rynkiewicz in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Keith Clay in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Microbial infections typically do not occur in isolation but co-occur within diverse communities of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and viruses. Co-infections can lead to increased disease severity, lead to selection for increased virulence, and complicate disease diagnosis and treatment. Co-infections also occur in disease vectors, and represent one source of co-infections in hosts. We examined patterns of co-infections in ticks (Order Acari), which vector diverse human and wildlife pathogens, and asked whether the frequency of microbial co-infections deviated significantly from independent associations. Most published data were from Ixodes species and reported infection and co-infection frequencies of Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. A total of 18 datasets representing 4978 adult ticks met our criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Significant deviations from independent co-infection were detected in eight of the 18 populations. Five populations exhibited a significant excess of A. phagocytophilum/B. burgdorferi co-infections, including all populations of I. ricinus that deviated from independence. In contrast, both populations of I. persulcatus and one of two populations of I. scapularis exhibited a significant deficit of co-infection. The single population of I. pacificus examined had a significant excess of co-infection. Our meta-analyses indicate that tick-borne microbes are often distributed non-randomly, but the direction of deviation was not consistent, indicating that multiple mechanisms contribute to these patterns. Unfortunately, most published studies were not designed to describe patterns of co-infection, and provided insufficient data for our meta-analysis. Future studies should more explicitly measure and report co-infections in ticks, including co-infections by endosymbionts.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 503 | 87 | 14 |
| Full Text Views | 47 | 7 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 44 | 10 | 3 |
