{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T23:52:08Z","timestamp":1791935528591,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":97,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,4]],"date-time":"2026-02-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770163200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are increasingly recorded in urban areas, where synanthropic wildlife may sustain pathogen transmission cycles. The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), frequently infested with ectoparasites, may serve as an urban reservoir of zoonotic TBPs. We investigated TBPs in host tissues and associated ectoparasites (Ixodes spp. and Archaeopsylla erinacei) from 129 hedgehogs in northwestern Italy. Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Rickettsia spp. were detected in skin, spleen and ectoparasites (Ixodes spp. and Archaeopsylla erinacei). One spleen sample was positive for B. miyamotoi. Molecular identification revealed A. phagocytophilum ecotype 1, B. afzelii and B. bavariensis. A flea-borne Rickettsia closely related to the zoonotic Rickettsia asembonensis was identified for the first time in European hedgehogs. All pathogens were more prevalent in skin than in spleen. In skin, A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi s.l. showed a positive interaction, whereas both were negatively associated with Rickettsia spp. These findings highlight hedgehogs as potential urban reservoirs of zoonotic TBPs, posing a potential risk for humans and domestic animals. The marked skin tropism of these pathogens supports the use of skin for TBP surveillance and underlines its role as a key interface for vector-borne transmission.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13020150","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,4]],"date-time":"2026-02-04T10:02:57Z","timestamp":1770199377000},"page":"150","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Single and Co-Infections by Tick-Borne Pathogens in Synanthropic European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in Northwestern Italy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6363-523X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ilaria","family":"Prandi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9799-9804","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emmanuel","family":"Serrano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H) and Servei D\u2019Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina I Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0122-106X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miriam","family":"Maas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manoj","family":"Fonville","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne","family":"Wattimena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8775-8401","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Quaranta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Centro Animali Non Convenzionali, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1068-0551","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Teresa","family":"Capucchio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Centro Animali Non Convenzionali, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0218-4320","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hein","family":"Sprong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2201-8802","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Tomassone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-017-2065-0","article-title":"Melting pot of tick-borne zoonoses: The European hedgehog contributes to the maintenance of various tick-borne diseases in natural cycles urban and suburban areas","volume":"10","author":"Jahfari","year":"2017","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"5","article-title":"Evidence that climate change has caused \u2018emergence\u2019 of tick-borne diseases in Europe?","volume":"293","author":"Randolph","year":"2004","journal-title":"Int. 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