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

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.

Increased Consumption of Sulfur Amino Acids by Both Sows and Piglets Enhances the Ability of the Progeny to Adverse Effects Induced by Lipopolysaccharide.

This study determined the effects of increased consumption of sulfur amino acids (SAA), as either DL-Met or Hydroxy-Met (OH-Met), by sows and piglets on their performance and the ability of the progeny to resist a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Thirty primiparous sows were fed a diet adequate in SAA (CON) or CON + 25% SAA, either as DL-Met or OH-Met from gestation day 85 to postnatal day 21. At 35 d old, 20 male piglets from each treatment were selected and divided into 2 groups (n = 10/treatment) for a 3 × 2 factorial design [diets (CON, DL-Met or OH-Met) and challenge (saline or LPS)]. OH-Met and/or DL-Met supplementation increased (p ≤ 0.05) piglets' body weight gain during day 0-7 and day 7-14. Sow's milk quality was improved in the supplemented treatments compared to the CON. The LPS challenge decreased (p ≤ 0.05) piglets' performance from 35 to 63 d and increased (p ≤ 0.05) the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-a, and malondialdehyde. Plasma albumin, total protein, total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase decreased post-challenge. The results were better with OH-Met than DL-Met. The increase of Met consumption, particularly as OH-Met increased piglets' growth performance during the lactation phase and the challenging period.