Seroprevalence of seven pathogens transmitted by the Ixodes ricinus tick in forestry workers in France

E. Rigaud (1) , B. Jaulhac (2, 3) , N. Garcia-Bonnet (4) , K. -P. Hunfeld (5) , Francoise Femenia (6) , Dominique Huet (6) , C. Goulvestre (7, 8) , V. Vaillant (9) , G. Deffontaines (1) , G. Abadia-Benoist (10)

1 Direction santé sécurité au travail
2 Virulence bactérienne précoce : fonctions cellulaires et contrôle de l'infection aiguë et subaiguë
3 CHU Strasbourg - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire [Strasbourg]
4 Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales
5 Northwest Medical Center, Academic Teaching Hospital, School of Medicine
6 BIPAR - Biologie moléculaire et immunologie parasitaires et fongiques
7 ANSES - Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail
8 UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12
9 INVS - Institut de Veille Sanitaire
10 AFOMETRA - Association pour la Formation dans les services Medicaux du Travail

In order to assess the level of occupational exposure to the main pathogens transmitted by the Ixodes ricinus tick, a seroprevalence study was performed on serum samples collected in 2003 from 2975 forestry workers of northeastern France. The global seroprevalence estimated for the seven pathogens studied was 14.1% (419/2975) for Borrelia burgdorferi sl, 5.7% (164/2908) for Francisella tularensis, 2.3% (68/2941) for tick-borne encephalitis virus, 1.7% (50/2908) for Anaplasma phagocytophilum and 1.7% (48/2908) for Bartonella henselae. The seroprevalences of Babesia divergens and Babesia microti studied in a subgroup of participants seropositive for at least one of these latter pathogens were 0.1% (1/810) and 2.5% (20/810), respectively. Borrelia burgdorferi sl seroprevalence was significantly higher in Alsace and Lorraine and F. tularensis seroprevalence was significantly higher in Champagne-Ardenne and Franche-Comte. The results of this survey also suggest low rates of transmission of Bartonella henselae and F. tularensis by ticks and a different west/east distribution of Babesia species in France. The frequency and potential severity of these diseases justify continued promotion of methods of prevention of I. ricinus bites. E. Rigaud, (C) 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Mots clés: France; Ixodes ricinus; Occupational exposure; Seroprevalence; Zoonotic agents

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

E. Rigaud, B. Jaulhac, N. Garcia-Bonnet, K. -P. Hunfeld, Francoise Femenia, et al.. Seroprevalence of seven pathogens transmitted by the Ixodes ricinus tick in forestry workers in France. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2016, 22 (8), pp.1-27. ⟨10.1016/j.cmi.2016.05.014⟩. ⟨hal-01602513⟩