Molecular Identification of <i>Borrelia</i> spp. from Ticks in Pastures Nearby Livestock Farms in Korea
Ticks are vectors that spread pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. As the number of ticks increases due to climate change, the importance of the study of tick-borne pathogens has also increased. This study was conducted to investigate the distribution of the major tick species causing Lyme bo...
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| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
MDPI AG
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/41f61ed5271b4346b10cf98c040b5a19 |
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| Sumario: | Ticks are vectors that spread pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. As the number of ticks increases due to climate change, the importance of the study of tick-borne pathogens has also increased. This study was conducted to investigate the distribution of the major tick species causing Lyme borreliosis and regional differences in the prevalence of <i>Borrelia</i> spp. by tick species. <i>Borrelia</i> infection was confirmed not only in <i>Ixodes</i> ticks, which are the major vectors of <i>Borrelia</i> spp., but also in <i>Haemaphysalis</i> and <i>Amblyomma</i> ticks. PCR targeting the 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region (rrf-rrl) was performed to confirm <i>Borrelia</i> positivity. A total of 6102 ticks (736 pools) were tested, and the proportion was <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> nymphs and adults at 69.2%, <i>Haemaphysalis flava</i> nymphs and adults at 13.9%, <i>Haemaphysalis</i> spp. larva at 14.3%, <i>Ixodes nipponensis</i> at 0.8%, and <i>Amblyomma testudinarium</i> at 1.9%. <i>Ixodes nipponensis</i> showed the highest minimum infection rate (MIR: 34.00; 17 pools/50 ticks) for <i>Borrelia</i> spp., followed by <i>A. testudinarium</i> (MIR: 0.88), and <i>H. longicornis</i> (MIR: 0.05). In particular, to our knowledge <i>Borrelia</i> infection was first confirmed in <i>A. testudinarium</i> in Korea. As a result of phylogenetic analysis, all sequences were grouped with <i>B</i><i>orrelia</i><i>afzelii</i> isolates and showed a close relationship with high identity. Considering that <i>B. afzelii</i> causes infectious zoonotic diseases, continuous monitoring and attention are needed, although it has a low prevalence in this study. |
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