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It is the principal vector of <jats:italic>Borrelia burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> sensu lato (s.l.) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), and there is increasing concern about <jats:italic>I. ricinus<\/jats:italic>'s potential to transmit pathogens to humans and animals in Iceland. The aim of this research is to determine whether <jats:italic>I. ricinus<\/jats:italic> ticks collected in Iceland carry <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> (s.l) and, in a limited number of samples, other pathogens to better understand the potential health risks that <jats:italic>I. ricinus<\/jats:italic> bites may pose to both humans and animals in Iceland.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Birds were captured and examined for ticks at the South East Iceland Bird Observatory from 2018 to 2019. All ticks were screened for infection with <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> (s.l.). Additionally, 133 ticks collected in Iceland prior to 2018, stored in the collection at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, were screened for the presence of <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> (s.l.), TBEV, <jats:italic>Coxiella burnetii<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Francisella tularensis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic> spp. Samples positive for <jats:italic>Borrelia<\/jats:italic> were sequenced by Genewiz Azenta, Germany, and BLAST (NCBI) analysis was performed on the obtained sequences.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>A total of 1209 <jats:italic>I. ricinus<\/jats:italic> ticks collected in Iceland were screened for the presence of <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> (s.l.); 133 ticks from a museum collection were additionally screened for other pathogens. <jats:italic>Borrelia burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> (s.l.) was detected in 9.9% of the tick samples (86\/866). DNA sequencing from 28 positive samples revealed three genospecies. The most frequently detected was <jats:italic>Borrelia garinii<\/jats:italic> (82.1%), followed by <jats:italic>B. valaisiana<\/jats:italic> (14.3%) and <jats:italic>B. afzelii<\/jats:italic> (3.6%). TBEV, <jats:italic>C. burnetii<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>F. tularensis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic> spp. were not detected in ticks from the collection.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>This research confirms the presence of <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> (s.l.) in <jats:italic>I. ricinus<\/jats:italic> ticks collected in Iceland. Even though Lyme disease is not endemic and <jats:italic>I. ricinus<\/jats:italic> ticks are not considered established, the risk of exposure remains. Further research on <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> (s.l.) and other pathogens these ticks may carry is essential along with raising public awareness and fostering collaboration between experts to reduce the risk of tick-borne diseases in Iceland.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Graphical Abstract<\/jats:title>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-025-06809-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,15]],"date-time":"2025-05-15T12:06:38Z","timestamp":1747310798000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Iceland"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Matthias","family":"Alfredsson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kayleigh","family":"Hansford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Carter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hei\u00f0a","family":"Sigur\u00f0ard\u00f3ttir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u00de\u00f3runn S\u00f3ley","family":"Bj\u00f6rnsd\u00f3ttir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hr\u00f3lfur Sm\u00e1ri","family":"P\u00e9tursson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gu\u00f0n\u00fd Rut","family":"P\u00e1lsd\u00f3ttir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jolyon M.","family":"Medlock","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"6809_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1403","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182009005782","volume":"136","author":"SE Randolph","year":"2009","unstructured":"Randolph SE. 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