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The red sheep tick, Haemaphysalis punctata (Ixodida: Ixodidae), has been reported as present in the U.K. for more than a century; however, very little has been written about its distribution. In recent years, numbers of detections of this tick species reported to the Public Health England (PHE) Tick Surveillance Scheme have increased. This rise in the number of records may be attributable to increased tick surveillance activities or to the increased distribution of this species of tick in parts of England. This paper reviews published reports of H. punctata and all data held by the Biological Records Centre and PHE, and summarizes a number of field studies conducted by PHE and the Animal and Plant Health Agency over the past 8 years. It would appear from the evidence presented here that H. punctata may be expanding its range across the eastern part of the South Downs National Park, where there have also been reports of this tick species biting humans. It is possible that the movement of sheep between grassland sites is facilitating this spread. Further studies that better elucidate the ecology of this tick and its possible role as a vector of human and veterinary diseases are now warranted. In recent years, numbers of detections of the red sheep tick, Haemaphysalis punctata, reported to the Public Health England (PHE) passive Tick Surveillance Scheme (TSS) have increased.The U.K. distribution of H. punctata is summarized through the examination of historical records and the comparison of these with recent data from PHE TSS and field studies.The tick appears to be expanding its range across areas of the South Downs in Sussex, where there have also been reports of human biting. Movements of sheep may be facilitating its spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthropod-borne pathogens are responsible for hundreds of millions of infections in humans each year. The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the predominant arthropod vector in the United States and is responsible for transmitting several human pathogens, including the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and the obligate intracellular rickettsial bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis. However, tick metabolic response to microbes and whether metabolite allocation occurs upon infection remain unknown. Here we investigated metabolic reprogramming in the tick ectoparasite I. scapularis and determined that the rickettsial bacterium A. phagocytophilum and the spirochete B. burgdorferi induced glycolysis in tick cells. Surprisingly, the endosymbiont Rickettsia buchneri had a minimal effect on bioenergetics. An unbiased metabolomics approach following A. phagocytophilum infection of tick cells showed alterations in carbohydrate, lipid, nucleotide and protein metabolism, including elevated levels of the pleiotropic metabolite β-aminoisobutyric acid. We manipulated the expression of genes associated with β-aminoisobutyric acid metabolism in I. scapularis, resulting in feeding impairment, diminished survival and reduced bacterial acquisition post haematophagy. Collectively, we discovered that metabolic reprogramming affects interspecies relationships and fitness in the clinically relevant tick I. scapularis., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and the pathogens they transmit represent a threat to human and animal health. Low-cost and effective surveillance methods are necessary to enable sustainable monitoring of mosquito distributions, diversity, and human interactions. This study examined the use of iNaturalist, an online, community-populated biodiversity recording database, for passive mosquito surveillance in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland, countries under threat from the introduction of invasive mosquitoes and emerging mosquito-borne diseases. The Mozzie Monitors UK & Ireland iNaturalist project was established to collate mosquito observations in these countries. Data were compared with existing long-term mosquito UK datasets to assess representativeness of seasonal and distribution trends in citizen scientist-recorded observations. The project collected 738 observations with the majority recorded 2020-2022. Records were primarily associated with urban areas, with the most common species Culex pipiens and Culiseta annulata significantly more likely to be observed in urban areas than other species. Analysis of images uploaded to the iNaturalist project also provided insights into human-biting behavior. Our analyses indicate that iNaturalist provides species composition, seasonal occurrence, and distribution figures consistent with existing datasets and is therefore a useful surveillance tool for recording information on human interactions with mosquitoes and monitoring species of concern.

By the end of 2017, 35 local authorities (LAs) across England had adopted takeaway management zones (or "exclusion zones") around schools as a means to curb proliferation of new takeaways. In this nationwide, natural experimental study, we evaluated the impact of management zones on takeaway retail, including unintended displacement of takeaways to areas immediately beyond management zones, and impacts on chain fast-food outlets. We used uncontrolled interrupted time series analyses to estimate changes from up to six years pre- and post-adoption of takeaway management zones around schools. We evaluated three outcomes: mean number of new takeaways within management zones (and by three identified sub-types: full management, town centre exempt and time management zones); mean number on the periphery of management zones (i.e. within an additional 100 m of the edge of zones); and presence of new chain fast-food outlets within management zones. For 26 LAs, we observed an overall decrease in the number of new takeaways opening within management zones. Six years post-intervention, we observed 0.83 (95% CI -0.30, -1.03) fewer new outlets opening per LA than would have been expected in absence of the intervention, equivalent to an 81.0% (95% CI -29.1, -100) reduction in the number of new outlets. Cumulatively, 12 (54%) fewer new takeaways opened than would have been expected over the six-year post-intervention period. When stratified by policy type, effects were most prominent for full management zones and town centre exempt zones. Estimates of intervention effects on numbers of new takeaways on the periphery of management zones, and on the presence of new chain fast-food outlets within management zones, did not meet statistical significance. Our findings suggest that management zone policies were able to demonstrably curb the proliferation of new takeaways. Modelling studies are required to measure the possible population health impacts associated with this change., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Importance: Ticks are second only to mosquitoes in their importance as vectors of disease agents; however, tick-borne diseases (TBDs) account for the majority of all vector-borne disease cases in the United States (approximately 76.5%), according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Newly discovered tick species and their associated disease-causing pathogens, and anthropogenic and demographic factors also contribute to the emergence and re-emergence of TBDs. Thus, incorporating different tick control approaches based on a thorough knowledge of tick biology has great potential to prevent and eliminate TBDs in the future. Here we demonstrate that replication of a transovarially transmitted rickettsial endosymbiont depends on the tick's autophagy machinery but not on apoptosis. Our findings improve our understanding of the role of symbionts in tick biology and the potential to discover tick control approaches to prevent or manage TBDs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Babesiosis, a disease in humans and animals is caused by piroplasms from the genus Babesia and is transmitted by ixodid ticks. Bovine babesiosis, commonly called redwater fever, is reported in cattle from many regions of the British Isles. The presence of Babesia in questing ticks in the United Kingdom (UK) and its potential impact on public and animal health has not been widely studied. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the presence of Babesia spp. in England and Wales using ticks collected over a six-year period. Questing Ixodes ricinus nymphs were collected at 20 recreational areas between 2014 and 2019 and screened for Babesia. Of 3912 nymphs tested, Babesia spp. were detected in 15, giving an overall prevalence of 0.38% [95%CI: 0.21-0.63%]. A number of Babesia species were identified including B. venatorum (n = 9), B. divergens/capreoli (n = 5) and B. odocoilei-like species (n = 1). Based on the low prevalence of Babesia detected in questing I. ricinus nymphs in the recreational areas studied, the likelihood of exposure to Babesia-infected ticks is lower compared to other pathogens more widely studied in the UK (e.g. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.). However, localized areas of elevated risk may occur in pockets in England and Wales., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no declaration of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Historically, the NHS did not routinely collect cost data, unlike many countries with private insurance markets. In 1998, for the first time the government mandated NHS trusts to submit estimates of their costs of service, known as reference costs. These have informed a wide range of health economic evaluations and important functions in the health service, such as setting prices.Reference costs are collected by progressively disaggregating budgets top-down into disease and treatment groups. Despite ongoing improvements to methods and guidance, these submissions continued to suffer a lack of accuracy and comparability, fundamentally undermining their credibility for critical functions.To overcome these issues, there was a long-held ambition to collect "patient-level" cost data. Patient-level costs are estimated with a combination of disaggregating budgets but also capturing the patient-level "causality of costs" bottom-up in the allocation of resources to patient episodes. These not only aim to capture more of the drivers of costs, but also improve consistency of reporting between providers.The change in methods may confer improvements to data quality, though judgement is still required and achieving consistency between trusts will take further work. Estimated costs may also change in important ways that may take many years to fully understand. We end on a cautionary note that patient-level cost methods may unlock potential, they alone contribute little to our understanding of the complexities involved with service quality or need, while that potential will require substantial investment to realise. Many healthcare resources cannot be attributed to individual patients so the very notion of "patient-level" costs may be misplaced. High hopes have been put in these new data, though much more work is now necessary to understand their quality, what they show and how their use will impact the system., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have been implemented globally to reduce the burden of cardiometabolic diseases by disincentivizing consumption through increased prices (e.g., 1 peso/litre tax in Mexico) or incentivizing industry reformulation to reduce SSB sugar content (e.g., tiered structure of the United Kingdom [UK] Soft Drinks Industry Levy [SDIL]). In Germany, where no tax on SSBs is enacted, the health and economic impact of SSB taxation using the experience from internationally implemented tax designs has not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to estimate the health and economic impact of national SSBs taxation scenarios in Germany., Methods and Findings: In this modelling study, we evaluated a 20% ad valorem SSB tax with/without taxation of fruit juice (based on implemented SSB taxes and recommendations) and a tiered tax (based on the UK SDIL) in the German adult population aged 30 to 90 years from 2023 to 2043. We developed a microsimulation model (IMPACTNCD Germany) that captures the demographics, risk factor profile and epidemiology of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in the German population using the best available evidence and national data. For each scenario, we estimated changes in sugar consumption and associated weight change. Resulting cases of cardiometabolic disease prevented/postponed and related quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and economic impacts from healthcare (medical costs) and societal (medical, patient time, and productivity costs) perspectives were estimated using national cost and health utility data. Additionally, we assessed structural uncertainty regarding direct, body mass index (BMI)-independent cardiometabolic effects of SSBs and cross-validated results with an independently developed cohort model (PRIMEtime). We found that SSB taxation could reduce sugar intake in the German adult population by 1 g/day (95%-uncertainty interval [0.05, 1.65]) for a 20% ad valorem tax on SSBs leading to reduced consumption through increased prices (pass-through of 82%) and 2.34 g/day (95%-UI [2.32, 2.36]) for a tiered tax on SSBs leading to 30% reduction in SSB sugar content via reformulation. Through reductions in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD), 106,000 (95%-UI [57,200, 153,200]) QALYs could be gained with a 20% ad valorem tax and 192,300 (95%-UI [130,100, 254,200]) QALYs with a tiered tax. Respectively, €9.6 billion (95%-UI [4.7, 15.3]) and €16.0 billion (95%-UI [8.1, 25.5]) costs could be saved from a societal perspective over 20 years. Impacts of the 20% ad valorem tax were larger when additionally taxing fruit juice (252,400 QALYs gained, 95%-UI [176,700, 325,800]; €11.8 billion costs saved, 95%-UI [€6.7, €17.9]), but impacts of all scenarios were reduced when excluding direct health effects of SSBs. Cross-validation with PRIMEtime showed similar results. Limitations include remaining uncertainties in the economic and epidemiological evidence and a lack of product-level data., Conclusions: In this study, we found that SSB taxation in Germany could help to reduce the national burden of noncommunicable diseases and save a substantial amount of societal costs. A tiered tax designed to incentivize reformulation of SSBs towards less sugar might have a larger population-level health and economic impact than an ad valorem tax that incentivizes consumer behaviour change only through increased prices., Competing Interests: KMFEF, BAC, NW, JL, MS, AP, LJC, MOF, CK, and ML report no support from any organisation for the submitted work. PS reports funding support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC); BAC reports funding support from the NIHR, Medical Research Council (MRC), National Health Service (NHS) and Wellcome Trust; BAC reports consulting fees from NESTA and UNICEF; BAC reports internal committee positions in the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford and membership in the Doctoral Training Partnerships Representatives of the MRC; KMFEF, NW, MS, AP, LJC, MOF, PS, CK and ML report no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; JL reports membership in the scientific board and lead of working groups of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) and membership in the Scientific Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL); all authors report no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright: © 2023 Emmert-Fees et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been adopted in more than 40 countries but remained under discussion in Vietnam. This study aimed to estimate the health impacts of different SSBs tax plans currently under discussion to provide an evidence base to inform decision-making about a SSBs tax policy in Vietnam., Method & Findings: Five tax scenarios were modelled, representing three levels of price increase: 5%, 11% and 19-20%. Scenarios of the highest price increase were assessed across three different tax designs: ad valorem, volume-based specific tax & sugar-based specific tax. We modelled SSBs consumption in each tax scenario; how this reduction in consumption translates to a reduction in total energy intake and how this relationship in turn translates to an average change in body weight and obesity status among adults by applying the calorie-to weight conversion factor. Changes in type 2 diabetes burden were then calculated based on the change in average BMI of the modelled cohort. A Monte Carlo simulation approach was applied on the conversion factor of weight change and diabetes risk reduction for the sensitivity analysis. We found that the taxation that involved a 5% price increase gave relatively small impacts while increasing SSBs' price up to 20% appeared to impact substantially on overweight and obesity rates (reduction of 12.7% and 12.4% respectively) saving 27 million USD for direct medical cost. The greatest reduction was observed for overweight and obesity class I. The decline in overweight and obesity rates was slightly higher for women than men., Conclusion: This study supports the SSB tax policy in pursuit of public health benefits, especially where the tax increase involves around a 20% price increase. The health benefit and revenue gains were evident across all three tax designs with the specific tax based on sugar density achieving greatest effects., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Nguyen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Understanding the effects of local habitat and wider landscape connectivity factors on tick presence, nymph density and Borrelia species (spp.) prevalence in the tick population is important for identifying the public health risk from Lyme borreliosis. This multi-city study collected data in three southern England cities (Bath, Bristol, and Southampton) during spring, summer, and autumn in 2017. Focusing specifically on urban green space used for recreation which were clearly in urbanised areas, 72 locations were sampled. Additionally, geospatial datasets on urban green space coverage within 250 m and 1 km of sampling points, as well as distance to woodland were incorporated into statistical models. Distance to woodland was negatively associated with tick presence and nymph density, particularly during spring and summer. Furthermore, we observed an interaction effect between habitat and season for tick presence and nymph density, with woodland habitat having greater tick presence and nymph density during spring. Borrelia spp. infected Ixodes ricinus were found in woodland, woodland edge and under canopy habitats in Bath and Southampton. Overall Borrelia spp. prevalence in nymphs was 2.8%, similar to wider UK studies assessing prevalence in Ixodes ricinus in rural areas. Bird-related Borrelia genospecies dominated across sites, suggesting bird reservoir hosts may be important in urban green space settings for feeding and infecting ticks. Whilst overall density of infected nymphs across the three cities was low (0.03 per 100 m 2 ), risk should be further investigated by incorporating data on tick bites acquired in urban settings, and subsequent Lyme borreliosis transmission., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Tick-borne disease risk is intrinsically linked to the distribution of tick vector species. To assess risk and anticipate disease emergence, an understanding of tick distribution, host associations, and seasonality is needed. This can be achieved, to some extent, using passive surveillance supported by engagement with the public, animal health, and public health experts. The Tick Surveillance Scheme (TSS) collects data and maps tick distribution across the United Kingdom (UK). Between 2017 and 2020, 3720 tick records were received and 39 tick species were detected. Most records were acquired in the UK, with a subset associated with recent overseas travel. The dominant UK acquired species was Ixodes ricinus (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Linnaeus), the main vector of Lyme borreliosis. Records peaked during May and June, highlighting a key risk period for tick bites. Other key UK species were detected, including Dermacentor reticulatus (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Fabricius) and Haemaphysalis punctata (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Canestrini & Fanzago) as well as several rarer species that may present novel tick-borne disease risk to humans and other animals. Updated tick distribution maps highlight areas in the UK where tick exposure has occurred. There is evidence of increasing human tick exposure over time, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, but seasonal patterns remain unchanged., (© 2022 Crown copyright. Medical and Veterinary Entomology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society. This article is published with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the King's Printer for Scotland.)

Aims: We used data from a recent systematic review to investigate weight regain after behavioural weight management programmes (BWMPs, sometimes referred to as lifestyle modification programmes) and its impact on quality-of-life and cost-effectiveness., Materials and Methods: Trial registries, databases and forward-citation searching (latest search December 2019) were used to identify randomized trials of BWMPs in adults with overweight/obesity reporting outcomes at ≥12 months, and after programme end. Two independent reviewers screened records. One reviewer extracted data and a second checked them. The differences between intervention and control groups were synthesized using mixed-effect, meta-regression and time-to-event models. We examined associations between weight difference and difference in quality-of-life. Cost-effectiveness was estimated from a health sector perspective., Results: In total, 155 trials (n > 150 000) contributed to analyses. The longest follow-up was 23 years post-programme. At programme end, intervention groups achieved -2.8 kg (95%CI -3.2 to -2.4) greater weight loss than controls. Weight regain after programme end was 0.12-0.32 kg/year greater in intervention relative to control groups, with a between-group difference evident for at least 5 years. Quality-of-life increased in intervention groups relative to control at programme end and thereafter returned to control as the difference in weight between groups diminished. BWMPs with this initial weight loss and subsequent regain would be cost-effective if delivered for under £560 (£8.80-£3900) per person., Conclusions: Modest rates of weight regain, with persistent benefits for several years, should encourage health care practitioners and policymakers to offer obesity treatments that cost less than our suggested thresholds as a cost-effective intervention to improve long-term weight management., Registration: The review is registered on PROSPERO, CRD42018105744., (© 2022 The Authors. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Ticks and their associated diseases are an important topic of study due to their public health and veterinary burden. However, the feeding requirements of ticks during both study and rearing can limit experimental questions or the ability of labs to research ticks and their associated pathogens. An artificial membrane feeding system can reduce these problems and open up new avenues of research that may not have been possible with traditional animal feeding systems. This study describes an artificial membrane feeding system that has been refined for feeding and engorgement success for all Ixodes scapularis life stages. Moreover, the artificial membrane feeding system described in this study can be modified for use with other tick species through simple refinement of the desired membrane thickness. The benefits of an artificial membrane feeding system are counterbalanced by the labor intensiveness of the system, the additional environmental factors that may impact feeding success, and the need to refine the technique for each new species and life stage of ticks.

The density of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Ixodes ricinus nymphs (DIN) was investigated during 2013-2017 across a Lyme disease-endemic landscape in southern England. The density of nymphs (DON), nymph infection prevalence (NIP), and DIN varied across five different natural habitats, with the highest DIN in woodland edge and high biodiversity woodlands. DIN was significantly lower in scrub grassland compared to the woodland edge, with low DON and no evidence of infection in ticks in non-scrub grassland. Over the 5 years, DON, NIP and DIN were comparable within habitats, except in 2014, with NIP varying three-fold and DIN significantly lower compared to 2015-2017. Borrelia garinii was most common, with bird-associated Borrelia (B. garinii/valaisiana) accounting for ~70% of all typed sequences. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto was more common than B. afzelii. Borrelia afzelii was more common in scrub grassland than woodland and absent in some years. The possible impact of scrub on grazed grassland, management of ecotonal woodland margins with public access, and the possible role of birds/gamebirds impacting NIP are discussed. Mean NIP was 7.6%, highlighting the potential risk posed by B. burgdorferi in this endemic area. There is a need for continued research to understand its complex ecology and identify strategies for minimizing risk to public health, through habitat/game management and public awareness., (© 2022 Crown copyright. Medical and Veterinary Entomology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society. This article is published with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.)

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis and tick-borne fever, affecting livestock, are diseases caused by an infection with the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Its transmission dynamics between vertebrate hosts and ticks remain largely unknown and the potential impact on public health in the United Kingdom is unclear. This study aimed to assess the distribution and estimate the prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in questing Ixodes ricinus at recreational locations across England and Wales over six years. An additional objective was to investigate possible associations between prevalence, habitat and presence of ruminant hosts. Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected each spring at 20 recreational locations across England and Wales between 2014 and 2019. Nymphs were tested for infection with A. phagocytophilum by detection of bacterial genome in DNA extracts, targeting the msp2 gene locus. Positive samples were further investigated for the presence of different ecotypes based on the GroEL region. Of 3,919 nymphs tested, the mean infection prevalence was 3.6% [95%CI: 3.1-4.3] and ranged from 0 to 20.4%. Northern England had a higher overall prevalence (4.7% [95%CI: 3.4-6.4]) compared to Southern England (1.8% [95%CI: 1.3-2.5]) and the presence of sheep was associated with higher A. phagocytophilum prevalence (8.4% [95%CI: 6.9-10.1] vs 1.2% [95%CI: 0.8-1.7] when absent). There was also a negative correlation with the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (causing Lyme borreliosis). When investigating the diversity of A. phagocytophilum, ecotype I accounted for 86.8% of samples and ecotype II for 13.2%. Our study presents an overview of A. phagocytophilum prevalence in questing I. ricinus in recreational areas across England and Wales and discusses the potential public and veterinary health relevance., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Recent increases in the incidence and geographic range of tick-borne diseases in North America are linked to the range expansion of medically important tick species, including Ixodes scapularis , Amblyomma americanum , and Amblyomma maculatum. Passive tick surveillance programs have been highly successful in collecting information on tick distribution, seasonality, host-biting activity, and pathogen infection prevalence. These have demonstrated the power of citizen or community science participation to collect country-wide, epidemiologically relevant data in a resource-efficient manner. This study examined tick observations from the online image-based biological recording platform iNaturalist to evaluate its use as an effective tool for monitoring the distributions of A. americanum , A. maculatum , I. scapularis , and Dermacentor in the United States and Canada. The distribution and seasonality of iNaturalist tick observations were found to accurately represent those of the studied species. County-level iNaturalist tick occurrence data showed good agreement with other data sources in documented areas of I. scapularis and A. americanum establishment, and highlighted numerous previously unreported counties with iNaturalist observations of these species. This study supports the use of iNaturalist data as a highly cost-effective passive tick surveillance method that can complement existing surveillance strategies to update tick distributions and identify new areas of tick establishment.

Tick-borne diseases are a significant threat to human and animal health throughout the world. How tick-borne pathogens successfully infect and disseminate in both their vertebrate and invertebrate hosts is only partially understood. Pathogens have evolved several mechanisms to combat host defense systems, and to avoid and modulate host immunity during infection, therefore benefitting their survival and replication. In the host, pathogens trigger responses from innate and adaptive immune systems that recognize and eliminate invaders. Two important innate defenses against pathogens are the programmed cell death pathways of apoptosis and autophagy. This Mini Review surveys the current knowledge of apoptosis and autophagy pathways in tick-pathogen interactions, as well as the strategies evolved by pathogens for their benefit. We then assess the limitations to studying both pathways and discuss their participation in the network of the tick immune system, before highlighting future perspectives in this field. The knowledge gained would significantly enhance our understanding of the defense responses in vector ticks that regulate pathogen infection and burden, and form the foundation for future research to identify novel approaches to the control of tick-borne diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wang and Cull.)

Ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of tick-borne pathogens in North America but notably does not transmit pathogenic Rickettsia species. This tick harbors the transovarially transmitted endosymbiont Rickettsia buchneri , which is widespread in I. scapularis populations, suggesting that it confers a selective advantage for tick survival such as providing essential nutrients. The R. buchneri genome includes genes with similarity to those involved in antibiotic synthesis. There are two gene clusters not found in other Rickettsiaceae, raising the possibility that these may be involved in excluding pathogenic bacteria from the tick. This study explored whether the R. buchneri antibiotic genes might exert antibiotic effects on pathogens associated with I. scapularis . Markedly reduced infectivity and replication of the tick-borne pathogens Anaplasma phagocytophilum, R. monacensis , and R. parkeri were observed in IRE11 tick cells hosting R. buchneri . Using a fluorescent plate reader assay to follow infection dynamics revealed that the presence of R. buchneri in tick cells, even at low infection rates, inhibited the growth of R. parkeri by 86-100% relative to R. buchneri -free cells. In contrast, presence of the low-pathogenic species R. amblyommatis or the endosymbiont R. peacockii only partially reduced the infection and replication of R. parkeri . Addition of host-cell free R. buchneri , cell lysate of R. buchneri- infected IRE11, or supernatant from R. buchneri- infected IRE11 cultures had no effect on R. parkeri infection and replication in IRE11, nor did these treatments show any antibiotic effect against non-obligate intracellular bacteria E. coli and S. aureus . However, lysate from R. buchneri- infected IRE11 challenged with R. parkeri showed some inhibitory effect on R. parkeri infection of treated IRE11, suggesting that challenge by pathogenic rickettsiae may induce the antibiotic effect of R. buchneri . This research suggests a potential role of the endosymbiont in preventing other rickettsiae from colonizing I. scapularis and/or being transmitted transovarially. The confirmation that the observed inhibition is linked to R. buchneri 's antibiotic clusters requires further investigation but could have important implications for our understanding of rickettsial competition and vector competence of I. scapularis for rickettsiae., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Cull, Burkhardt, Wang, Thorpe, Oliver, Kurtti and Munderloh.)

Assessing the risk of tick-borne disease in areas with high visitor numbers is important from a public health perspective. Evidence suggests that tick presence, density, infection prevalence and the density of infected ticks can vary between habitats within urban green space, suggesting that the risk of Lyme borreliosis transmission can also vary. This study assessed nymph density, Borrelia prevalence and the density of infected nymphs across a range of habitat types in nine parks in London which receive millions of visitors each year. Ixodes ricinus were found in only two of the nine locations sampled, and here they were found in all types of habitat surveyed. Established I. ricinus populations were identified in the two largest parks, both of which had resident free-roaming deer populations. Highest densities of nymphs (15.68 per 100 m 2 ) and infected nymphs (1.22 per 100 m 2 ) were associated with woodland and under canopy habitats in Richmond Park, but ticks infected with Borrelia were found across all habitat types surveyed. Nymphs infected with Borrelia (7.9%) were only reported from Richmond Park, where Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and Borrelia afzelii were identified as the dominant genospecies. Areas with short grass appeared to be less suitable for ticks and maintaining short grass in high footfall areas could be a good strategy for reducing the risk of Lyme borreliosis transmission to humans in such settings. In areas where this would create conflict with existing practices which aim to improve and/or meet historic landscape, biodiversity and public access goals, promoting public health awareness of tick-borne disease risks could also be utilised.

The heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is thought to be an excellent drug target against parasitic diseases. The leishmanicidal effect of an Hsp90 inhibitor, 17-N-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), was previously demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo models of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Parasite death was shown to occur in association with severe ultrastructural alterations in Leishmania , suggestive of autophagic activation. We hypothesized that 17-AAG treatment results in the abnormal activation of the autophagic pathway, leading to parasite death. To elucidate this process, experiments were performed using transgenic parasites with GFP-ATG8-labelled autophagosomes. Mutant parasites treated with 17-AAG exhibited autophagosomes that did not entrap cargo, such as glycosomes, or fuse with lysosomes. ATG5-knockout (Δ atg5 ) parasites, which are incapable of forming autophagosomes, demonstrated lower sensitivity to 17-AAG-induced cell death when compared to wild-type (WT) Leishmania , further supporting the role of autophagy in 17-AAG-induced cell death. In addition, Hsp90 inhibition resulted in greater accumulation of ubiquitylated proteins in both WT- and Δ atg5 -treated parasites compared to controls, in the absence of proteasome overload. In conjunction with previously described ultrastructural alterations, herein we present evidence that treatment with 17-AAG causes abnormal activation of the autophagic pathway, resulting in the formation of immature autophagosomes and, consequently, incidental parasite death.

Voluntary contributions by citizen scientists can gather large datasets covering wide geographical areas, and are increasingly utilized by researchers for multiple applications, including arthropod vector surveillance. Online platforms such as iNaturalist accumulate crowdsourced biological observations from around the world and these data could also be useful for monitoring vectors. The aim of this study was to explore the availability of observations of important vector taxa on the iNaturalist platform and examine the utility of these data to complement existing vector surveillance activities. Of ten vector taxa investigated, records were most numerous for mosquitoes (Culicidae; 23,018 records, 222 species) and ticks (Ixodida; 16,214 records, 87 species), with most data from 2019-2020. Case studies were performed to assess whether images associated with records were of sufficient quality to identify species and compare iNaturalist observations of vector species to the known situation at the state, national and regional level based on existing published data. Firstly, tick data collected at the national (United Kingdom) or state (Minnesota, USA) level were sufficient to determine seasonal occurrence and distribution patterns of important tick species, and were able to corroborate and complement known trends in tick distribution. Importantly, tick species with expanding distributions (Haemaphysalis punctata in the UK, and Amblyomma americanum in Minnesota) were also detected. Secondly, using iNaturalist data to monitor expanding tick species in Europe (Hyalomma spp.) and the USA (Haemaphysalis longicornis), and invasive Aedes mosquitoes in Europe, showed potential for tracking these species within their known range as well as identifying possible areas of expansion. Despite known limitations associated with crowdsourced data, this study shows that iNaturalist can be a valuable source of information on vector distribution and seasonality that could be used to supplement existing vector surveillance data, especially at a time when many surveillance programs may have been interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Apoptosis is an innate immune response induced by infection in eukaryotes that contributes significantly to protection from pathogens. However, little is known about the role of apoptosis in the interactions of arthropod vectors with the rickettsiae that they transmit. Rickettsia spp. are vector-borne obligately intracellular bacteria and display different degrees of virulence in their eukaryotic hosts. In this study, we found that infection with Rickettsia parkeri ( Rp ) activated the apoptosis pathway in an Amblyomma americanum tick cell line (AAE2), as evidenced by the loss of phospholipid membrane asymmetry and DNA fragmentations. Additionally, infection with Rp also led to apoptosis activation in cell lines of different tick species. Interestingly, suppressing apoptosis decreased Rp infection and replication, while the activation of apoptosis increased Rp accumulation at the early stage of infection. Moreover, mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis was essential for Rp infection and replication in vector cells, and apoptosis induction required intracellular rickettsia replication. We further showed that Rp utilizes two different survival strategies to modulate apoptosis in the arthropod vectors and mammalian host cells. There was no direct correlation between apoptosis activation in vector cells and rickettsial pathogenicity. These novel findings indicate a possible mechanism whereby apoptosis facilitates infection and replication of a Rickettsia sp. in an arthropod vector. These results contribute to our understanding of how the vector's responses to pathogen infection affect pathogen replication and therefore transmission. IMPORTANCE Rickettsioses, infections caused by the genus Rickettsia , are among the oldest known infectious diseases. Ticks are essential arthropod vectors for rickettsiae, and knowledge about the interactions between ticks, their hosts, and pathogens is fundamental for identifying drivers of tick-borne rickettsioses. Despite the rapid development in apoptosis research with rickettsiae, little is known regarding the role of apoptosis in the interactions between Rickettsia spp., vertebrate hosts, and arthropod vectors. Here, we demonstrated that mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis is essential for rickettsial infection and replication in vector cells and that apoptosis induction requires intracellular rickettsial replication. However, rickettsial pathogenicity is not linked with apoptosis activation in tick cells. Our findings improve understanding of the apoptosis mechanism in arthropods exploited by rickettsiae and also the potential to discover specific targets for new vaccines and drugs to prevent or treat rickettsial infections., (Copyright © 2021 Wang et al.)

Overseas travel to regions where ticks are found can increase travellers' exposure to ticks and pathogens that may be unfamiliar to medical professionals in their home countries. Previous studies have detailed non-native tick species removed from recently returned travellers, occasionally leading to travel-associated human cases of exotic tick-borne disease. There are 20 species of tick endemic to the UK, yet UK travellers can be exposed to many other non-native species whilst overseas. Here, we report ticks received by Public Health England's Tick Surveillance Scheme from humans with recent travel history between January 2006 and December 2018. Altogether, 16 tick species were received from people who had recently travelled overseas. Confirmed imports (acquired outside of the UK) were received from people who recently travelled to 22 countries. Possible imports (acquired abroad or within the UK) were received from people who had recently travelled to eight European countries. Species-specific literature reviews highlighted nine of the sixteen tick species are known to vector at least one tick-borne pathogen to humans in the country of acquisition, suggesting travellers exposed to ticks may be at risk of being bitten by a species that is a known vector, with implications for novel tick-borne disease transmission to travellers.

The Channel Islands are British Crown dependencies located in the English Channel to the west of the Normandy coast in northern France. Whilst there have been studies investigating tick occurrence and distribution in different habitats on the mainland of the UK and in France, the Channel Islands have been relatively understudied. As such, little is known about whether the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus, is present, and whether there is a potential risk of Lyme borreliosis on the Channel Islands. To ascertain the presence of I. ricinus on the three largest islands in the archipelago: Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney, surveys of ticks questing in the vegetation and ticks feeding on hosts were undertaken during April and May 2016. Across all three islands, the highest numbers of ticks were found in woodland habitats. Ixodes ricinus was the predominant questing tick species found on Jersey, and Ixodes ventalloi the most common questing tick species on Alderney and Guernsey, with little or no evidence of questing I. ricinus on either island. During field studies on small mammals, I. ricinus was the predominant tick species feeding on Jersey bank voles (Myodes glareolus caesarius), with Ixodes hexagonus the most common species infesting hedgehogs on Guernsey. We propose that the greater diversity of small mammals on Jersey may be important in supporting immature stages of I. ricinus, in contrast to Guernsey and Alderney. Morphological identification of tick species was confirmed by PCR sequencing based on amplification of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit one (cox1) gene (COI DNA barcoding). To date, there have been few records of human tick bites in the Channel Islands, suggesting that the current risk from tick-borne disease may be low, but continued reporting of any human tick bites, along with reporting of cases of Lyme borreliosis will be important for continued assessment of the impact of tick-borne diseases in the Channel Islands., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The inland floodwater mosquito Aedes vexans (Meigen, 1830) is a competent vector of numerous arthropod-borne viruses such as Rift Valley fever virus ( Phenuiviridae ) and Zika virus ( Flaviviridae ). Aedes vexans spp. have widespread Afrotropical distribution and are common European cosmopolitan mosquitoes. We examined the virome of Ae. vexans arabiensis samples from Barkédji village, Senegal, with small RNA sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, and RT-PCR screening. We identified a novel 9494 nt iflavirus ( Picornaviridae ) designated here as Aedes vexans iflavirus (AvIFV). Annotation of the AvIFV genome reveals a 2782 amino acid polyprotein with iflavirus protein domain architecture and typical iflavirus 5' internal ribosomal entry site and 3' poly-A tail. Aedes vexans iflavirus is most closely related to a partial virus sequence from Venturia canescens (a parasitoid wasp) with 56.77% pairwise amino acid identity. Analysis of AvIFV-derived small RNAs suggests that AvIFV is targeted by the exogenous RNA interference pathway but not the PIWI-interacting RNA response, as ~60% of AvIFV reads corresponded to 21 nt Dicer-2 virus-derived small RNAs and the 24-29 nt AvIFV read population did not exhibit a "ping-pong" signature. The RT-PCR screens of archival and current (circa 2011-2020) Ae. vexans arabiensis laboratory samples and wild-caught mosquitoes from Barkédji suggest that AvIFV is ubiquitous in these mosquitoes. Further, we screened wild-caught European Ae. vexans samples from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Sweden, all of which tested negative for AvIFV RNA. This report provides insight into the diversity of commensal Aedes viruses and the host RNAi response towards iflaviruses.

Tick bites on humans can occur in a variety of habitats and may result in the transmission of tick-borne pathogens, such as the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. As the risk of transmission of this pathogen to the host increases with the duration of tick feeding, the recognition and removal of ticks as soon as possible following attachment is important for reducing the risk of infection. Performing a thorough body examination for ticks following potential exposure is recommended by tick awareness campaigns. Knowledge of where on the body feeding ticks are frequently found, and at which times of year peak tick exposure occurs, provides important information for public health messaging and may aid those bitten by ticks to engage more effectively with tick-checking behaviour. This paper summarizes human tick bites in the United Kingdom (UK) during 2013-2018 reported to Public Health England's passive Tick Surveillance Scheme and further examines the anatomical location and seasonality of bites from the most commonly encountered tick and LB vector Ixodes ricinus. A total of 1,328 tick records from humans were received of which 93% were I. ricinus. Humans were most commonly bitten by I. ricinus nymphs (70% bites). Tick bites were recorded on all parts of the body, but there were significant differences in their anatomical location on adults and children. Most tick bites on adults occurred on the legs (50%), whereas on children tick bites were mostly on the head and neck (43%). Bites from I. ricinus were recorded throughout the year but were most numerous during May to August. This study adds to the body of research on the seasonality and anatomical location of human tick bites in temperate Europe and highlights the importance of data collected through passive surveillance in addition to research and epidemiological studies., (© 2019 Crown copyright. Zoonoses Public Health © 2019 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

Social identities play an important role in many aspects of life, not least in those pertaining to health and well-being. Decades of research shows that these relationships are driven by a range of social identity processes, including identification with groups, social support received from groups, and multiple group memberships. However, to date, researchers have not had access to methods that simultaneously capture these social identity processes. To fill this void, this article introduces an online Social Identity Mapping (oSIM) tool designed to assess the multidimensional and connected nature of social identities. Four studies (total N = 721) featuring community, student, new parent, and retiree samples, test the reliability and validity of oSIM. Results indicate that the tool is easy to use, engaging, has good internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity, and predicts relevant outcomes across a range of contexts. Furthermore, using meta-analytic findings, the tool is able to index a higher-order social identity construct, here introduced as a supergroup. This new concept provides holistic information about groups (reflecting an integrated index of several social identity processes) that are predictive of well-being outcomes, as well as outcomes related to successful adjustment to challenging life events. We discuss how the tool can be used to tackle key debates in the literature and contribute to theory by affording researchers the opportunity to capture the nuanced and contextual nature of social identity in action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

During September 2018, a tick was submitted to Public Health England's Tick Surveillance Scheme for identification. The tick was sent from a veterinarian who removed it from a horse in Dorset, England, with no history of overseas travel. The tick was identified as a male Hyalomma rufipes using morphological and molecular methods and then tested for a range of tick-borne pathogens including; Alkhurma virus, Anaplasma, Babesia, Bhanja virus, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever virus, Rickettsia and Theileria. The tick tested positive for Rickettsia aeschlimannii, a spotted fever group rickettsia linked to a number of human cases in Africa and Europe. This is the first time H. rufipes has been reported in the United Kingdom (UK), and the lack of travel by the horse (or any in-contact horses) suggests that this could also be the first evidence of successful moulting of a Hyalomma nymph in the UK. It is postulated that the tick was imported into the UK on a migratory bird as an engorged nymph which was able to complete its moult to the adult stage and find a host. This highlights that passive tick surveillance remains an important method for the detection of unusual species that may present a threat to public health in the UK. Horses are important hosts of Hyalomma sp. adults in their native range, therefore, further surveillance studies should be conducted to check horses for ticks in the months following spring bird migration; when imported nymphs may have had time to drop off their avian host and moult to adults. The potential human and animal health risks of such events occurring more regularly are discussed., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Background: The geographic distribution of Dermacentor reticulatus is expanding in Europe. Surveillance of this tick species and its pathogens is desirable, as it transmits pathogens of public and veterinary importance. A high-throughput real-time PCR-based array was used to screen 1.741 D. reticulatus ticks from Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, and Great Britain for the presence of 28 tick-borne bacteria and twelve protozoan parasites. The presence of pathogen DNA was confirmed by conventional PCR followed by sequencing., Results: The array detected the presence of DNA from Borrelia spp. (7%), B. afzelii (0.1%) , B. garinii (0.1%) , B. spielmanii (0.1%) , B. miyamotoi (0.2%) , Anaplasma marginale (0.1%) , A. phagocytophilum (0.1%) , Ehrlichia canis (2%) , Rickettsia helvetica (0.2%) , spotted fever group Rickettsia (9.6%), Francisella tularensis or Francisella -like endosymbionts (95%) , Coxiella burnettii (0.1%) , Babesia divergens (0.2%) , B. canis (0.9%) B. vogeli (5.6%) , and Theileria equi (0.1%) . Only the presence of B. canis and spotted fever group Rickettsia could be confirmed by conventional PCR and sequencing. The spotted fever Rickettsia -positive samples were all identified as R. raoultii ., Conclusions: We successfully detected and determined the prevalence of B. canis and R. raoultii in D. reticulatus . An high-throughput array that allows fast and comprehensive testing of tick-borne pathogens is advantageous for surveillance and future epidemiological studies. The importance of thorough validation of real-time PCR-based assays and careful interpretation is evident.

In recent years, the known distribution of vector-borne diseases in Europe has changed, with much new information also available now on the status of vectors in the United Kingdom (UK). For example, in 2016, the UK reported their first detection of the non-native mosquito Aedes albopictus , which is a known vector for dengue and chikungunya virus. In 2010, Culex modestus , a principal mosquito vector for West Nile virus was detected in large numbers in the Thames estuary. For tick-borne diseases, data on the changing distribution of the Lyme borreliosis tick vector, Ixodes ricinus , has recently been published, at a time when there has been an increase in the numbers of reported human cases of Lyme disease. This paper brings together the latest surveillance data and pertinent research on vector-borne disease in the UK, and its relevance to public health. It highlights the need for continued vector surveillance systems to monitor our native mosquito and tick fauna, as well as the need to expand surveillance for invasive species. It illustrates the importance of maintaining surveillance capacity that is sufficient to ensure accurate and timely disease risk assessment to help mitigate the UK's changing emerging infectious disease risks, especially in a time of climatic and environmental change and increasing global connectivity.