| Summary: | The bat tick <i>Carios</i><i>vespertilionis</i> has been reported from Sweden to occasionally feed on humans resulting in disease symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate <i>C. vespertilionis</i> as a potential vector and reservoir of <i>Borrelia</i> species. In 2015 and 2018 in south-central Sweden, <i>C. vespertilionis</i> ticks were collected from a wooden bat box harboring Soprano pipistrelle bats, <i>Pipistrellus pygmaeus</i>. In addition, one <i>C. vespertilionis</i> tick found inside a house in southern Sweden in 2019 was collected. Ticks were screened for <i>Borrelia</i> spp. using a genus-specific quantitative PCR assay. The <i>Borrelia</i> species of the positive specimens were determined by conventional PCR followed by DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. A total of 24% (22 of 92) of the analyzed <i>C. vespertilionis</i> ticks were <i>Borrelia</i>-positive. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the bacteria belong to the relapsing fever group of borreliae; some of them appear to be identical with <i>Borrelia</i> sp. CPB1, a spirochete only found twice before—in the United Kingdom and in France. Our results also indicate a temporal and spatial distribution of this <i>Borrelia</i> species. Since <i>C. vespertilionis</i> occasionally bites humans, and since it exhibits a high prevalence of <i>Borrelia</i> bacteria, it is possible that it presents a risk of human disease. Further studies are needed to characterize <i>Borrelia</i> sp. CPB1 to determine if it is human-pathogenic and to determine if <i>C. vespertilionis</i> is a vector and/or reservoir of this agent.
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