Haemaphysalis concinna Koch is one of 19 species of the genus Haemaphysalis which has been reported in the Palearctic region. In Europe, the presence of H. concinna ticks has been reported in numerous countries. In Poland, to date, the precise occurrence of H. concinna was known only from one site in the north-western region. This paper shows that H. concinna ticks can be considered a typical example of the tick fauna occurring in Lower Silesia, SW Poland. Tick monitoring was conducted using a standard flagging method in 24 sites in the various forest types of Lower Silesia. Among 1622 host-seeking ticks collected, H. concinna accounted for 2.7%. From the collected H. concinna there were: 25 (58.1%) larvae, 15 (34.9%) nymphs, 1 (2.3%) female, and 2 (4.7%) males. The presence of H. concinna was confirmed in 6 out of 24 tested sites in fresh mixed broadleaf forests, fresh mixed coniferous forests and in pastures.

Entomopathogenic fungi of the genus Beauveria and Metarhizium play an important role in controlling the population of arthropods. However, the data on their effectiveness against ticks focus mainly on species that do not occur in Europe. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of entomopathogenic fungi against two of the most important tick species in Europe: Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus. In our study, the majority of tested entomopathogenic fungi strains showed potential efficacy against both tick species; however, D. reticulatus was less susceptible in comparison to I. ricinus. The observed mortality of ticks was up to 100% by using all commercial strains as well as three out of nine of the environmental strains. Among all tested fungi, the most effective against both tick species was environmental strain Metarhizium anisopliae LO4(1) with LC₅₀ values: 2.6 × 10³ cfu/ml–5.7 × 10⁵ cfu/ml. Botanigard proved to be more effective than MET52 with LC₅₀ values: 6.8 × 10³ cfu/ml–3.3 × 10⁶ cfu/ml. The conducted bioassays indicate the potential possibility of using the environmental isolates of entomopathogenic fungi, as well as commercial strains in control of local populations of I. ricinus and D. reticulatus; however, the possibility of using them in vivo requires more research.

To estimate the Lyme borreliosis (LB) risk for forest workers, totally 646 blood samples were tested for IgG and IgM anti-Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (anti-B.b.) antibody occurrence using ELISA tests confirmed with western blot. To clarify the varied LB risk, additionally, the data from the Forest Data Bank determining the detailed forest habitat type in particular forest inspectorates were used. The occurrence of the anti-B.b. antibody was confirmed in 22% (8.7% IgM, 17.8% IgG) of forest workers. Analysis of the influence of the habitat type (forest types) indicated the significant positive impact of the occurrence of the deciduous and mixed-deciduous forests on the seroprevalence of anti-B.b. IgG level among forestry workers. However, the share of forest type cannot be the only factor taken into account when assessing risk.

Objective: The objective of this paper was to assess the airborne mold contamination, secondary metabolite profiles, and cytotoxicity of the dominant fungal species isolated from the air in selected rooms at a Zoological Garden. Materials and methods: Fungal concentrations were measured with MAS-100 air samplers. The collected airborne fungi were identified using a combination of morphological and molecular methods. The cytotoxicity of 84 strains belonging to two Penicillium and Aspergillus genera was determined using the quantitative colorimetric MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium salt) assay. The mycotoxins were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a mass spectrometry detector. Results: The ITS gene was amplified and sequenced to identify the 132 species. For mycotoxicological and cytotoxicity analyses, 52 Penicillium isolates and 32 Aspergillus representatives were selected. Cytotoxicity was confirmed in 97.6% of cases analyzed. Using the LC-MS/MS method, 42 out of 84 strains produced at least one of the following toxins: ochratoxin A, ochratoxin B, patulin, gliotoxin, roquefortine C, griseofulvin, sterigmatocystin, fumonisin B2, moniliformin, and mycophenolic acid. Conclusions: Analytical methods for assessing the presence of mycotoxins in fungal isolates collected directly from the air have proven to be an effective tool. Our research provides new information on the occurrence of potentially toxin-producing molds within a zoo.

: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the degree of mycological air contamination and determine the taxonomic diversity of airborne fungi residing in the air of 20 different animal facilities in a zoological garden. The concentrations of fungi in the zoological garden were measured using a MAS-100 air sampler. The collected microorganisms were identified using the combination of molecular and morphological methods. The fungal concentration ranged from 50 to 3.65 × 10⁴ CFU/m³ during the whole study. The quantitative analysis of the fungal aerosol showed that the obtained concentration values were lower than the recommended permissible limits (5 × 10⁴ CFU/m³ for fungi). Environmental factors, including temperature and relative humidity, exerted a varying effect on the presence and concentration of isolated fungi. Relative humidity was shown to correlate positively with the concentration of fungal spores in the air of the facilities studied (rho = 0.57, p < 0.0021). In parallel, no significant correlation was established between temperature and total fungal concentration (rho = − 0.1, p < 0.2263). A total of 112 fungal strains belonging to 50 species and 10 genera were isolated. Penicillium was the dominant genera, including 58.9% of total fungal strains, followed by Aspergillus 25.89%, Cladosporium 3.57%, Talaromyces 3.57%, Mucor 1.78%, Schizophyllum 1.78%, Syncephalastrum 0.89%, Alternaria 0.89%, Absidia 0.89%, and Cunninghamella 0.89%. Our preliminary studies provide basic information about the fungal concentrations, as well as their biodiversity in zoological garden. Further studies are needed to generate additional data from long-term sampling in order to increase our understanding of airborne fungal composition in the zoological garden.

The present study aimed to identify airborne molds of the Aspergillus genus and to determine the secondary metabolite profiles and toxicity of dominant fungal species isolated from various locations in the Wroclaw Zoological Garden. Air samples were collected using a MAS-100 air sampler and analyzed for fungal colony-forming units (CFU). Morphological and molecular methods, including ITS sequencing, were employed for dominant mold identification. The most frequently encountered species were A. fumigatus and A. niger, while A. pseudoglaucus and A. nomius were the least common. The high prevalence of species from sections Nigri, Flavi, and Fumigati suggests their adaptability to the zoo environment. A total of 17 Aspergillus isolates were analyzed for both their capacity to induce cellular toxicity and their production of mycotoxins. The results indicated that all isolates exhibited cellular toxicity, with 70.6% displaying levels of toxicity that were medium to high. Furthermore, the mycotoxicological analysis revealed that only A. fumigatus strains were capable of producing mycotoxins, specifically gliotoxin. The study underscores the discrepancy between the levels of toxicity and the production of mycotoxins, thereby suggesting the presence of additional cytotoxic metabolites. These findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between fungal metabolites and their consequences for human health.