{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T06:07:46Z","timestamp":1784095666986,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783987200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003196","name":"Italian Ministry of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["L3P5"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["L3P5"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003196","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"MUR PNRR Extended Partnership Initiative on Emerging Infectious Diseases","award":["PE00000007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PE00000007"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Data on tick-borne diseases (TBDs) in Italy are fragmented. This study aimed to describe tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) and TBDs observed in a hospital in Italy and to assess the correlation between TBPs and human disease. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in a single hospital between March 2024 and January 2025. Inclusion criteria were: individuals \u2265 8 years of age and consent to study participation. Data and blood samples were collected at baseline (T0), and 12\u201318 weeks later (T1). Ticks collected at T0 were pooled and analyzed by real-time PCR. Serological and molecular tests were used for TBD diagnosis. Results: Ninety-three individuals (median age 39 years; 52.7% female) were enrolled. The pathogens most frequently detected in the tick pools were Rickettsia spp. (15.1%) and Borrelia spp. (7.5%). Sixteen participants (17.2%) developed TBD-compatible symptoms, but TBD was confirmed in only four cases: Lyme borreliosis (n = 2), scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite (SENLAT, n = 1), and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE, n = 1). Concordance between TBP detection and the corresponding TBD development in humans was observed in only two cases (2.1%). Conclusions: The low concordance between pathogens detected in participant-level tick pools and confirmed human tick-borne disease supports the limited clinical value of tick testing in this setting.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15070736","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T08:04:31Z","timestamp":1784016271000},"page":"736","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Tick-Borne Infections: Results from a Prospective Observational Study from a Single Centre in Northern Italy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5097-1890","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Tedesco","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pietro","family":"Sponga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Careggi University Hospital, 50134 Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4175-1620","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Bertoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9368-850X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Matucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4935-0349","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Graziana","family":"Da Rold","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Ecopathology Wildelife Specialistic Center-SCT2-Belluno, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), 32100 Belluno, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5459-7880","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federica","family":"Obber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Ecopathology Wildelife Specialistic Center-SCT2-Belluno, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), 32100 Belluno, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6017-1181","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucia","family":"Moro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5739-3795","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chiara","family":"Piubelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3933-3892","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesca","family":"Perandin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9819-236X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Concetta","family":"Castilletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3203-0872","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabio","family":"Formenti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4561-3447","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Mazzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2956-8997","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Salvatore","family":"Scarso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0108-6822","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dora","family":"Buonfrate","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6899-4545","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federico","family":"Gobbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar di Valpolicella, 37024 Verona, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S3","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182004005967","article-title":"The global importance of ticks","volume":"129","author":"Jongejan","year":"2004","journal-title":"Parasitology"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Mullen, G.R., and Durden, L.A. 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