<i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> in ticks of the Canton Tessin (Switzerland)

In the northern Alps it is hard to find an <i>Ixodes ricinus</i> population which does not harbour <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i>. The infection rates range from 5 to 34% for adults and nymphs to 3.1% for larvae. This study shows that the infection rates on the southern side of the Alps are similar, at 25% for adults, 36.2% for nymphs and 3.2% for larvae. With respect to tick species other than I. ricinus, we did not succeed in finding any spirochetes in <i>Dermacentor marginatus, Haemaphysalis punctata, Ixodes hexagonus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus</i>.