Our team studies the infectious pathogens circulating in wildlife and having an impact in public health or in animal health, and the role of wildlife in the circulation of these pathogens. This includes studying the eco-epidemiology of ticks and tick-borne pathogens aiming to gain knowledge and better understand:

• epidemiological cycles of tick-borne pathogens in wildlife, and the interactions within the host-vector-pathogen system (spatio-temporal dynamics, identification of reservoir, realized vector competence of different tick species);
• the spatial distribution of ticks and tick-borne pathogens and the factors influencing these distributions;
• high risk situations regarding exposure to tick bites and tick-borne pathogens in humans.

Our studies focus on some pathogens (mainly tick-borne encephalitis virus and Borrelia burgdorferi sl.) or on some host species to better understand their contribution in the transmission of tick-borne pathogens (small mammals, red fox, raccoon, birds). Regarding tick-borne encephalitis virus, our work aims to better understand the epidemiological cycle of this virus in France (prevalence in ticks, level of exposure of small mammals to this virus); and to better know the distribution of the virus in France through seroprevalence surveys and modelling.

We also study the human risk of exposure to tick bite and tick-borne-pathogens (including Borrelia burgdorferi sl), depending on the environment, especially on private gardens (project TIQUoJARDIN https://www.citique.fr/tiquojardin/)  and/or on specific activities conducted in these areas.

Our team has joined in 2014 the network of observatories for the temporal monitoring of tick densities. This network, coordinated by the INRA EPIA team, aims to better understand the temporal factors influencing tick activity. 

Ixodes ricinus, virus de l’encéphalite à tiques, Borrelia burgdorferi sl., Anaplasma phagocytophilum

• Bournez, L., Umhang, G., Faure, E., Boucher, J.-M., Boué, F., Jourdain, E., Sarasa, M., Llorente, F., Jiménez-Clavero, M.A., Moutailler, S., Lacour, S.A., Lecollinet, S., Beck, C., 2019. Exposure of Wild Ungulates to the Usutu and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Viruses in  France in 2009-2014: Evidence of Undetected Flavivirus Circulation a Decade Ago. Viruses 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12010010
• Bournez, L., Umhang, G., Moinet, M., Boucher, J.-M., Demerson, J.-M., Caillot, C., Legras, L., Devillers, E., Hansmann, Y., Velay, A., Richomme, C., Moutailler, S., Boué, F., 2020a. Disappearance of TBEV Circulation among Rodents in a Natural Focus in Alsace, Eastern France. Pathogens 9, 930. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9110930
• Bournez, L., Umhang, G., Moinet, M., Richomme, C., Demerson, J.-M., Caillot, C., Devillers, E., Boucher, J.-M., Hansmann, Y., Boué, F., Moutailler, S., 2020b. Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus: Seasonal and Annual Variation of Epidemiological Parameters Related to Nymph-to-Larva Transmission and Exposure of Small Mammals. Pathogens 9, 518. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070518
• Durand, J., Bournez, L., Marchand, J., Schmid, C., Carravieri, I., Palin, B., Galley, C., Godard, V., Brun-Jacob, A., Cosson, J.-F., Frey-Klett, P., 2021. Are Orienteers Protected Enough against Tick Bites? Estimating Human Exposure to Tick Bites through a Participative Science Survey during an Orienteering Competition. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health 18, 3161. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063161
• Gonzalez, G., Bournez, L., Moraes, R.A., Marine, D., Galon, C., Vorimore, F., Cochin, M., Nougairède, A., Hennechart-Collette, C., Perelle, S., Leparc-Goffart, I., Durand, G.A., Grard, G., Bénet, T., Danjou, N., Blanchin, M., Lacour, S.A., Franck, B., Chenut, G., Mainguet, C., Simon, C., Brémont, L., Zientara, S., Moutailler, S., Martin-Latil, S., Dheilly, N.M., Beck, C., Lecollinet, S., 2022. A One-Health Approach to Investigating an Outbreak of Alimentary Tick-Borne Encephalitis in a Non-endemic Area in France (Ain, Eastern France): A Longitudinal Serological Study in Livestock, Detection in Ticks, and the First Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Isolation and Molecular Characterisation. Front. Microbiol. 0. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.863725
• Hennechart-Collette, C., Gonzalez, G., Fourniol, L., Fraisse, A., Beck, C., Moutailler, S., Bournez, L., Dheilly, N.M., Lacour, S.A., Lecollinet, S., Martin-Latil, S., Perelle, S., 2022. Method for tick-borne encephalitis virus detection in raw milk products. Food Microbiol. 104, 104003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2022.104003
• Rataud, A., Galon, C., Bournez, L., Henry, P.-Y., Marsot, M., Moutailler, S., 2022. Diversity of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Tick Larvae Feeding on Breeding Birds in France. Pathogens 11, 946. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11080946
• Plantard O., Hoch T., Daveu R., Rispe C., Stachurski F., Boué F., Poux V., Cebe N., Verheyden H., René-Martellet M., Chalvet-Monfray K., Cafiso A., Olivieri E., Moutailler S., Pollet T., Agoulon A. Where to find questing Ixodes frontalis ticks? Under bamboo bushes!. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases, 2021, 12 (2), pp.101625. ⟨10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101625⟩.

• Ixodes spp.
• TBE
• faune sauvage
• micro-mammifères