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Upcoming PhD defenses

Several PhD's will be defended in 2012.
For more information see PhD theses



The Laboratory is looking for motivated PhD students.
For more information see vacancies.

Ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Belgium


Background
Between 2000 and 2002 a pilot study in Belgium was performed by the Laboratory of Parasitology (Université de Liège), in order to estimate the prevalence of ticks in dogs and cats visiting their veterinary surgeon. The two dominant species present on cats and dogs were Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes hexagonus . However, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Dermacentor reticulatus were also found in low numbers on dogs. Recent reports indicate that the habitat of D. reticulatus is expanding in North-Western Europe, with several foci now present in The Netherlands and in Germany. D. reticulatus is a vector of tick associated diseases that until recently were considered to be absent in Belgium, such as canine babesiosis (Babesia canis). Ixodes ticks can transmit pathogens that are endemic in Belgium, such as Borrelia burgdorferi, but also pathogens that are only present in specific regions (e.g. Babesia divergens) or pathogens that have not yet been detected in Belgium (e.g. tick borne encephalitis virus, Rickettsia helvetica). The risk of emerging tick borne diseases and the increasing awareness of veterinarians of this threat were the incentives to start a new survey on ticks found on dogs and cats and their associated pathogens.

Current research
This study is a joint initiative of the University of Liège (Prof B. Losson, C. Saegerman), the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp (Dr M. Madder) and Ghent University (Prof E. Claerebout, A. De Cat), together with Bayer Health Care.

The first objective is to estimate the distribution of ticks on dogs and cats in Belgium.
• Which species of ticks are found on dogs and cats in Belgium?
• Is Dermacentor expanding its distribution in Belgium, and if so, in which region(s)?
Secondly, the presence and distribution of a selection of tick-borne pathogens will be investigated:
• Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.: B. burgdorferi s.s., B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. valaisiana, B. lusitaniae, B. spielmanii
• Anaplasma phagocytophilum
• Babesia spp.: B. canis, B. divergens, B. microti, Babesia sp. (EU1)
• Rickettsia spp.: R. helvetica, R. raoultii
• (TBE)

Ticks will be collected from dogs and cats submitted to veterinarians in Belgium during one year (April 2008-April 2009). A short questionnaire will be filled in for every positive dog and cat, to collect relevant information on the animal and its environment regarding ticks and tick-borne diseases.
Parcels with collected ticks and questionnaire forms will be send back to the Laboratories of Parasitology of the University of Liège or Ghent University.
The ticks will be identified to species level, with stage and sex recorded, using standard morphological keys. The collected ticks will be archived for detection of tick-borne pathogens. Genomic DNA will be extracted from (a subset of) the collected ticks and the DNA from the selected tick-borne pathogens will be detected by PCR or by PCR followed by reverse line blot hybridisation.

CONTACT
Prof. Dr. E. Claerebout