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. 2020 Nov 12;13(1):576.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04451-1.

Questing tick abundance in urban and peri-urban parks in the French city of Lyon

Laure Mathews-Martin  1 , Manon Namèche  2 , Gwenaël Vourc'h  1 , Sabrina Gasser  3 , Isabelle Lebert  1 , Valérie Poux  1 , Séverine Barry  1 , Séverine Bord  1   4 , Jeremy Jachacz  1 , Karine Chalvet-Monfray  1   5 , Gilles Bourdoiseau  1   5 , Sophie Pamies  2 , Diana Sepúlveda  2 , Sandrine Chambon-Rouvier  6 , Magalie René-Martellet  7   8
Affiliations

Questing tick abundance in urban and peri-urban parks in the French city of Lyon

Laure Mathews-Martin et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: In Europe, ticks are responsible for the transmission of several pathogens of medical importance, including bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) complex, the agents of Lyme borreliosis. In France, the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region is considered a hot spot for human tick-borne pathogen infections, with an estimated annual rate of 156 cases of Lyme borreliosis per 100,000 inhabitants. Although several studies have assessed the abundance of ticks in rural areas, little consideration has been given thus far to urban green spaces in France.

Methods: This study aimed to estimate tick abundance in three parks, two urban (U1, U2) and one peri-urban (PU), in and around the city of Lyon (France). A forest in a rural area was used as a control (C). Tick sampling campaigns were performed in each site in April, May, June, July, and October 2019 using the dragging method. One hundred transects of 10 m2 each were randomly chosen in each park in places frequented by humans. The sampling sessions were carried out under semi-controlled abiotic conditions. Ticks were stored in 70% ethanol and identified to species and developmental stage under a light microscope using morphological keys.

Results: A total of seven ticks (nymphs and adults) were collected in the two urban parks (six in U1 and one in U2), while 499 ticks were sampled in the peri-urban park. Of the 506 ticks collected, 504 were identified as Ixodes ricinus, one as Dermacentor marginatus, and one as Ixodes frontalis. In the peri-urban park, ticks were mainly collected under the forest cover and at forest edges. Tick density under forest cover was 7.1 times higher in the control site than in the peri-urban park throughout the survey period.

Conclusions: This study confirmed the presence of ticks in all of the parks surveyed, although their occurrence in the urban parks was very rare compared to the peri-urban park and the control site. These results should serve as a basis for the implementation of preventive measures.

Keywords: Dermacentor; France; Ixodes; Lyon; Park; Ticks.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Location of the parks (U1, U2, PU) and control site (C) in the region of Lyon. Map background BDOrtho® 50 cm IGN. Abbreviations: U1, U2, urban parks; PU, peri-urban park; C, control site
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Distribution of ticks in PU, U1, and U2 sites. Key: red spot, transect positive for I. ricinus ticks; green spot, transect negative for I. ricinus ticks. Tick number is expressed per 10-m2 transect. Map background BDOrtho® 50 cm IGN. Abbreviations: U1, U2, urban parks; PU, peri-urban park
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Seasonality of Ixodes spp. activity in PU park and C site. 1000 m2 in PU and 100 m2 in C were sampled each month. Abbreviations: PU, peri-urban park; C, control site
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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