Tick-borne microsporidiosis: ticks as a neglected source of human microsporidian infections?

We detected 24 Encephalitozoon cuniculi positive Ixodes ricinus ticks of 284 collected in the Czech Republic. Since the route of transmission of microsporidia is not fully understood, the presence of microsporidia in ticks raises the question of whether they may be involved in the transmission of these pathogens.