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Abstract 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.

OBJETIVO: Este estudo visa avaliar a eficácia do tratamento cirúrgico da fibrilação atrial com ablação por ultrassom, concomitante à cirurgia valvar mitral, em pacientes do Pronto Socorro Cardiológico de Pernambuco (PROCAPE) portadores de fibrilação atrial permanente. MÉTODOS: De março 2008 até janeiro 2009, foi realizado no PROCAPE um estudo prospectivo com 44 pacientes consecutivos, portadores de fibrilação atrial permanente e indicação de cirurgia valvar mitral. Vinte e dois pacientes foram submetidos à ablação com ultrassom no epicárdio do átrio direito (AD) e no endocárdio do átrio esquerdo (AE) concomitantemente ao reparo valvar. Os outros 22 pacientes foram submetidos ao procedimento valvar sem ablação por ultrassom. Pacientes com doença coronária diagnosticada e outras enfermidades graves foram excluídos da pesquisa. RESULTADOS: Foi observada 90% de reversão da FA a ritmo sinusal no pós-operatório imediato dos pacientes que receberam ablação por ultrassom concomitante ao reparo mitral. A evolução no pós-operatório tardio mostrou queda na permanência da reversão a sinusal, porém o grupo que recebeu intervenção ainda apresentou percentual superior a 27% em relação ao grupo controle. Dos 22 pacientes submetidos à ablação com ultrassom, 86,40% apresentaram melhora da classe funcional e não foi constatado neste grupo maior ocorrência de complicações do que no grupo que foi submetido à correção valvar sem ablação. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados apresentados pelo estudo demonstraram que os pacientes submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico da FA, com aplicação de ultrassom concomitante à correção valvar, apresentaram vantagens em relação ao grupo controle.OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation with ultrasound ablation concomitant to mitral surgery in PROCAPE's patients with permanent atrial fibrillation. METHODS: From March 2008 through January 2009 a prospective study was performed at the Pernambuco Cardiology Emergency Facility on 44 consecutive patients with a permanent atrial fibrillation and concomitant cardiac valvular surgery indication, from March 2008 through January 2009 at Pernambuco Cardiology Emergency Facility Twenty two patients underwent epicardial ultrasonic ablation on the right atrium and had ultrasonic ablation performed in the left atrium endocardial concomitant with the valve procedure. The other 22 patients, the concurrent controls were submitted to valve procedure without ultrasonic ablation. Patients with serious diseases such as coronary and others were excluded of the research. RESULTS: It was observed 90% restoration to sinus rhythm immediately after surgery in patients submitted to treatment of atrial fibrillation with ultrasound ablation simultaneous a mitral surgery. The evolution in late post operation showed that the maintenance of sinus rhythm drops although it was still 27% higher in the group which received ablation compared with the control group. 86.40% of the patients who received ablation had improved in functional class; they also have fewer complications than patients in the control group. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the patients who received treatment for atrial fibrillation simultaneously with valvar surgery had advantages related to the control group.

BackgroundSeoul virus (SEOV) is an orthohantavirus primarily carried by rats. In humans, it may cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Its incidence is likely underestimated and given the expansion of urban areas, a better knowledge of SEOV circulation in rat populations is called for. Beyond the need to improve human case detection, we need to deepen our comprehension of the ecological, epidemiological, and evolutionary processes involved in the transmission of SEOV.Methodology / principal findingsWe performed a comprehensive serological and molecular characterization of SEOV in Rattus norvegicus in a popular urban park within a large city (Lyon, France) to provide essential information to design surveillance strategies regarding SEOV. We sampled rats within the urban park of 'La Tête d'Or' in Lyon city from 2020 to 2022. We combined rat population genetics, immunofluorescence assays, SEOV high-throughput sequencing (S, M, and L segments), and phylogenetic analyses. We found low structuring of wild rat populations within Lyon city. Only one sampling site within the park (building created in 2021) showed high genetic differentiation and deserves further attention. We confirmed the circulation of SEOV in rats from the park with high seroprevalence (17.2%) and high genetic similarity with the strain previously described in 2011 in Lyon city.Conclusion/significanceThis study confirms the continuous circulation of SEOV in a popular urban park where the risk for SEOV transmission to humans is present. Implementing a surveillance of this virus could provide an efficient early warning system and help prepare risk-based interventions. As we reveal high gene flow between rat populations from the park and the rest of the city, we advocate for SEOV surveillance to be conducted at the scale of the entire city.

Rodents are recognized as the main reservoirs of Leptospira spp. Rats, in particular, serve as hosts for the widely predominant Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae, found worldwide. Several studies have shown the importance of other reservoirs, such as mice or hedgehogs, which harbor other leptospires' serovars. Nevertheless, our knowledge of circulating Leptospira spp. in reservoirs other than rats remains limited. In this context, we proposed an eco-health approach to assess the health hazard associated with leptospires in urban green spaces, where contacts between human/small mammals and domestic animals are likely. We studied the prevalence, the diversity of circulating strains, and epidemiology of pathogenic Leptospira species in small terrestrial mammal communities (rodents and shrews), between 2020-2022, in two parks in Lyon metropolis, France. Our study showed a significant carriage of Leptospira spp. in small terrestrial mammals in these parks and unveiled a global prevalence rate of 11.4%. Significant variations of prevalence were observed among the small mammal species (from 0 to 26.1%), with Rattus norvegicus exhibiting the highest infection levels (26.1%). We also observed strong spatio-temporal variations in Leptospira spp. circulation in its reservoirs. Prevalence seems to be higher in the peri-urban park and in autumn in 2021 and 2022. This is potentially due to differences in landscape, abiotic conditions and small mammal communities' composition. Our study suggests an important public health relevance of rats and in a lesser extent of other rodents (Apodemus spp., Clethrionomys glareolus and Mus musculus) as reservoirs of L. interrogans, with rodent species carrying specific serogroups/serovars. We also emphasize the potential hazard associated between the shrew Crocidura russula and L. kirschneri. Altogether, these results improve our knowledge about the prevalence of leptospirosis in an urban environment, which is an essential prerequisite for the implementation of prevention of associated risks.