Publications

2026

Joensuu R, Huhtamo E, Sormunen J.J, Kinnunen P.M, Aalto J, Kallio E.R, Kant R, Mäkelä H, Culverwell C.L, Kolstela J, Polade S, Huitu O, Siljander M, Sipari S, Smura T, Dub T, Hendrickx G, Puonti P, Holopainen R, Gadd T, Vauhkonen H, Kareinen L, Tammiranta N, Oksanen A, Hytönen J, Julkunen I, Sironen T, Henttonen H, Gregow H, Korhonen E.M. & Vapalahti O. 2026: A narrative review of climateand environment-dependent dynamics of vector-borne diseases in the Nordic region: evidence from Finland. Infectious Diseases, DOI: 10.1080/23744235.2026.2703130

Hytönen J. 2026 Nopeasti yleistyvän puutiaisaivotulehduksen diagnostiikka vaatii tarkkuutta. Suom Lääkäril 2026;81:e48422, www.laakarilehti.fi/e48422

Pöyhönen H, Pietikäinen A, Rinne V, Sirén A, Ranne S, Peltola V, Hytönen J. 2026 Two pediatric Lyme neuroborreliosis patients presenting with cerebrovascular events. Ticks Tick Borne Dis.  May;17(3):102660. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2026.102660. Epub 2026 May 21. PMID: 42167053.

Sormunen, J.J. 2026. Citizen science tick observations serve as an early warning system for tick-borne diseases. Zoonoses and Public Health 73: 234–243.
https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.70045

Kuukkanen, I., Pietikäinen, A., Rissanen, T., Hurme, S., Kortela, E., Hytönen, J., & Karonen, M. 2026: Metabolomic insights into Lyme neuroborreliosis: Exploring cerebrospinal fluid for diagnostic clues. Ticks Tick Borne Dis.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2026.102645

Hakula, M., Halt, K., Friberg, N., Gunell, M., Savolainen, L., Junttila, I., & Hytönen J. 2026;142:597–600: Puutiaisvälitteinen Borrelia miyamotoi-infektio lapsella – ensimmäinen tunnistettu tautitapaus Suomessa. Duodecim.

2025

Alale, T.Y., Klemola, T., Sormunen, J.J., Harvala, H., Kakkola, L., Tikkala, J. & Vesterinen, E.J. 2025: Tick-borne viruses in Finland: Public health risks, interventions and research insights. – Veterinary Medicine and Science 11: e70638. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.70638

Lamppu, M., Klemola, T., Vesterinen, E., Dub, T., Pietikäinen, A. & Hytönen, J. 2025: Repeated cross-sectional surveys show a decreasing trend in Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato seroprevalence over a 50-year period, Finland, 1966 to 2017. Eurosurveillance 30: 2500171. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2025.30.36.2500171

Sormunen, J.J., Vesterinen, E.J. & Klemola, T. 2025: Ticks and tick-borne pathogens encountered by dogs and cats: a North European perspective.  Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 2025: 5574554. https://doi.org/10.1155/tbed/5574554

Tanski, N., Hänninen, J., Kalliola, R. & Sormunen, J.J. 2025: Ghosts of weather past? Impact of past and present weather-related factors on the seasonal questing activity of Ixodes ricinus nymphs in southwestern Finland. Parasites & Vectors 18: 283. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-06911-y

Sormunen, J.J., Kylänpää, S., Sippola, E., Elo, R., Kiran, N., Pakanen, V.-M., Kallio, E.R., Vesterinen, E.J. and Klemola, T. (2025), There Goes the Neighbourhood—A Multi-City Study Reveals Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens Commonly Occupy Urban Green Spaces. Zoonoses Public Health 2025, 72:313–323
https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.13208

Kuukkanen, I.; Pietikäinen, A.; Rissanen, T.; Hurme, S.; Kortela, E.; Kenerva, M.; Oksi, J.; Hytönen, J.; Karonen, M. UHPLC-MS/MS-based untargeted metabolite profiling of Lyme neuroborreliosis. Scientific Reports 2025, 15: 8442.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92189-0

2024

Rinne, V.; Gröndahl-Yli-Hannuksela, K.; Fair-Mäkelä, R.; Salmi, M.; Rantakari, P.; Lönnberg, T.; Alinikula, J.; Pietikäinen, A.; Hytönen, J. Single-cell transcriptome analysis of the early immune response in the lymph nodes of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected mice. Microbes and Infection 105424 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micinf.2024.105424

Hohenthal U.; Tikkala J.; Rinne V.; Österback R.; Keskitalo A.; Pietikäinen, A.; Hytönen J. Clinical picture and outcome of the first identified case of human Neoehrlichia mikurensis infection in Finland. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2024, 16 (1), 102395.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102395

Sormunen, J.J., Mänttäri, J., Vesterinen, E.J. & Klemola, T. Blood meal analysis reveals sources of tick-borne pathogens and differences in host utilization of juvenile Ixodes ricinus across urban and sylvatic habitats. Zoonoses and Public Health 2024, 71: 442–450.
https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.13124

Alale, T.Y., Sormunen, J.J., Vesterinen, E.J., Klemola, T., Knott, K.E. & Baltazar-Soares, M. Genomic signatures of hybridization between Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus in natural populations. Ecology and Evolution 2024, 14: e11415.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11415

Alale, T.Y., Sormunen, J.J., Nzeh, J., Agjei, R.O., Vesterinen, E.J. & Klemola, T. Public knowledge and awareness of tick-borne pathogens and diseases: A cross-sectional study in Ghana. Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases 2024, 6: 100228.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100228

2023

Sormunen, J. J.; Mäkelä, S.; Klemola, T.; Alale, T. Y.; Vesterinen, E. J. Voles, Shrews and Red Squirrels as Sources of Tick Blood Meals and Tick-Borne Pathogens on an Island in Southwestern Finland. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2023, 14 (3), 102134.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102134

Sormunen, J. J.; Kulha, N.; Alale, T. Y.; Klemola, T.; Sääksjärvi, I. E. Vesterinen, E. J. For the People by the People: Citizen Science Web Interface for Real‐time Monitoring of Tick Risk Areas in Finland. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 2023, 4 (4).
https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12294

Sormunen, J. J.; Sääksjärvi, I. E.; Vesterinen, E. J.; Klemola, T. Crowdsourced Tick Observation Data from across 60 Years Reveals Major Increases and Northwards Shifts in Tick Contact Areas in Finland. Sci Rep 2023, 13 (1), 21274. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48744-8

2022

Pietikäinen, A.; Backman, I.; Henningsson, A. J.; Hytönen, J. Clinical Performance and Analytical Accuracy of a C6 Peptide-Based Point-of-Care Lateral Flow Immunoassay in Lyme Borreliosis Serology. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2022, 103 (1), 115657.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2022.115657

Pietikäinen, A.; Glader, O.; Kortela, E.; Kanerva, M.; Oksi, J.; Hytönen, J. Borrelia Burgdorferi Specific Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid Antibodies in Lyme Neuroborreliosis. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2022, 104 (3), 115782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2022.115782

2021

Kortela, E.; Kanerva, M. J.; Puustinen, J.; Hurme, S.; Airas, L.; Lauhio, A.; Hohenthal, U.; Jalava-Karvinen, P.; Nieminen, T.; Finnilä, T.; Häggblom, T.; Pietikäinen, A.; Koivisto, M.; Vilhonen, J.; Marttila-Vaara, M.; Hytönen, J.; Oksi, J. Oral Doxycycline Compared to Intravenous Ceftriaxone in the Treatment of Lyme Neuroborreliosis: A Multicenter, Equivalence, Randomized, Open-Label Trial. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2021, 72 (8), 1323–1331. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa217

Rouhiainen, M.; Pietikäinen, A.; Kortela, E.; Kanerva, M. J.; Oksi, J.; Hytönen, J. C6 Peptide Enzyme Immunoassay in Lyme Borreliosis Serology. J Microbiol Methods 2021, 180, 106122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2020.106122

Pietikäinen, A.; Åstrand, M.; Cuellar, J.; Glader, O.; Elovaara, H.; Rouhiainen, M.; Salo, J.; Furihata, T.; Salminen, T. A.; Hytönen, J. Conserved Lysine Residues in Decorin Binding Proteins of Borrelia Garinii Are Critical in Adhesion to Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells. Mol Microbiol 2021, 115 (6), 1395–1409. https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.14687

Sormunen, J. J.; Pakanen, V.-M.; Elo, R.; Mäkelä, S.; Hytönen, J. Absence of Francisella Tularensis in Finnish Ixodes Ricinus and Ixodes Persulcatus Ticks. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2021, 12 (6), 101809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101809

2020

Cuellar, J.; Åstrand, M.; Elovaara, H.; Pietikäinen, A.; Sirén, S.; Liljeblad, A.; Guédez, G.; Salminen, T. A.; Hytönen, J. Structural and Biomolecular Analyses of Borrelia Burgdorferi BmpD Reveal a Substrate-Binding Protein of an ABC-Type Nucleoside Transporter Family. Infect Immun 2020, 88 (4). https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00962-19

Feuth, E.; Virtanen, M.; Helve, O.; Hytönen, J.; Sane, J. Lyme Borreliosis in Finland: A Register-Based Linkage Study. BMC Infect Dis 2020, 20 (1), 819.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-020-05555-w