Frequency and Distribution of Rickettsiae, Borreliae, and Ehrlichiae Detected in Human-Parasitizing Ticks, Texas, USA.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Mitchell EA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4734531 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Cases of tick-borne diseases, including spotted fever rickettsioses, borreliosis, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis, in the United States and territories have more than doubled from 2004 to 2016 and account for 77% of all vector-borne disease reports. In an effort to inform control efforts, the presence of tick-borne pathogens and their vectors was assessed in a recreational park in Walker County, Texas. Here we report data from questing ticks collected on three dates from June 2017 to June 2018. The majority of ticks collected were Amblyomma americanum (96.69%) followed by three additional tick species: Dermacentor variabilis (2.59%), Ixodes scapularis (0.52%), and A. maculatum (0.21%). Ticks were pooled and tested for molecular evidence of bacterial and viral pathogens, respectively. All of the 68 pools of A. americanum had molecular evidence of the spotted fever group rickettsia, Rickettsia amblyommatis. Additionally, six (8.82%) of the A. americanum pools contained sequences matching Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the pathogen responsible for human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis, and 11 (16.18%) for E. ewingii. Three of the A. americanum pools demonstrated evidence of Borrelia lonestari. The presence of etiologic agents of known human disease in this study merits the continued surveillance efforts of ticks and their pathogens in areas where they could pose risks to public health.
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Project description:To determine the cause of spotted fever cases in the southern United States, we screened Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) collected in Arkansas for rickettsiae. Of the screened ticks, 30% had PCR amplicons consistent with Rickettsia parkeri or Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii.
| S-EPMC2953995 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A total of 178 adult ticks were collected from 32 pet dogs from five veterinary clinics in Shihezi City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), northwestern China. All the ticks were identified by comprehensive morphological and genetic analyses, and rickettsiae were detected by seven Rickettsia-specific genetic markers in the ticks. The ticks collected were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato. Twenty-one of the 178 samples (11.8%) were positive for rickettsiae. Among these, in 13 (61.9%) samples Candidatus R. barbariae were identified, in five (23.8%) samples R. massiliae, and in three (14.3%) samples R. conorii. This study indicates that more attention should be paid to rickettsial infection in pet dogs and their ticks, because the latter may pose an epidemiological risk for tick-borne transmission of rickettsiae to human beings.
| S-EPMC6341051 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAmblyomma ticks parasitize a wide range of animals in tropical regions. This study describes the identification of Amblyomma ticks from wild snakes in Malaysia and the detection of potential human pathogens such as Rickettsia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and bartonellae in the ticks.FindingsTwenty one adult ticks (twelve A. varanense and nine Amblyomma helvolum ticks) identified from seven Python molurus snakes in Sepang and a pool of six A. helvolum ticks from a Naja sumatrana snake in Johore, Malaysia were investigated in this study. Amplification of the citrate synthase (gltA), 190-kDa surface antigen gene (ompA), 135-kDa surface antigen (ompB) and surface cell antigen (sca4) genes followed by sequence analysis confirmed the presence of two potential novel spotted fever group rickettsiae in the ticks. Candidatus Rickettsia sepangensis from an engorged A. varanense tick demonstrated high sequence similarity to Rickettsia tamurae; while Candidatus Rickettsia johorensis from two samples (individual and pooled) of A. helvolum and two A. varanense ticks were closely related to Rickettsia raoultii. Anaplasma and Ehrlichia DNA were detected from seven and two ticks, respectively. No bartonellae was detected from any of the ticks.ConclusionThe finding in this study suggests that Amblyomma ticks parasitizing wild snakes may serve as reservoir hosts and carriers for rickettsioses, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis in this region.
| S-EPMC4342797 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundLittle is known regarding tick-borne diseases in Mongolia, despite having 26% of the population still living nomadic pastoral lifestyles. A total of 1497 adult unfed ticks: 261 Ixodes persulcatus, 795 Dermacentor nuttalli, and 441 Hyalomma asiaticum, were collected from three ecologically distinct regions in Central Mongolia. Tick pools (n = 299) containing ~5 ticks each, were tested for Rickettsia and Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) using nested polymerase chain reaction, reverse transcription-PCR, and quantitative real-time RT-PCR.ResultsAssays yielded pooled prevalence of 92.5% (49/53) and 1.9% (1/53) for pooled I. persulcatus testing positive for "Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae" and TBEV, respectively, while Rickettsia raoultii was found in 72.8% (115/158) of pooled D. nuttalli samples. When calculating a maximum likelihood estimation, an estimated 46.6% (95% CI: 35.2-63.6%) of I. persulcatus ticks in the pooled sample were infected with "Candidatus R. tarasevichiae".ConclusionsBoth "Candidatus R. tarasevichiae" and R. raoultii are recognized as emerging tick-borne pathogens, with this being one of the first reports of "Candidatus R. tarasevichiae" in Mongolia. Given that "Candidatus R. tarasevichiae" shares the same vector (I. persulcatus) as TBEV, and infections may present with similar symptoms, Mongolian physicians treating suspected cases of TBEV should include "Candidatus R. tarasevichiae" infection in their differential diagnosis and consider prescribing antimicrobial therapy.
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Project description:BackgroundThe blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the primary vector of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in North America. Though the tick is found across the eastern United States, Lyme disease is endemic to the northeast and upper midwest and rare or absent in the southern portion of the vector's range. In an effort to better understand the tick microbiome from diverse geographic and climatic regions, we analysed the bacterial community of 115 I. scapularis adults collected from vegetation in Texas and Massachusetts, representing extreme ends of the vector's range, by massively parallel sequencing of the 16S V4 rRNA gene. In addition, 7 female I. scapularis collected from dogs in Texas were included in the study.ResultsMale I. scapularis ticks had a more diverse bacterial microbiome in comparison to the female ticks. Rickettsia spp. dominated the microbiomes of field-collected female I. scapularis from both regions, as well as half of the males from Texas. In addition, the male and female ticks captured from Massachusetts contained high proportions of the pathogens Anaplasma and Borrelia, as well as the arthropod endosymbiont Wolbachia. None of these were found in libraries generated from ticks collected in Texas. Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Mycobacterium were significantly differently abundant (p < 0.05) between the male ticks from Massachusetts and Texas. Anaplasma and Borrelia were found in 15 and 63% of the 62 Massachusetts ticks, respectively, with a co-infection rate of 11%. Female ticks collected from Texas dogs were particularly diverse, and contained several genera including Rickettsia, Pseudomonas, Bradyrhizobium, Sediminibacterium, and Ralstonia.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the bacterial microbiomes of I. scapularis ticks vary by sex and geography, with significantly more diversity in male microbiomes compared to females. We found that sex plays a larger role than geography in shaping the composition/diversity of the I. scapularis microbiome, but that geography affects what additional taxa are represented (beyond Rickettsia) and whether pathogens are found. Furthermore, recent feeding may have a role in shaping the tick microbiome, as evident from a more complex bacterial community in female ticks from dogs compared to the wild-caught questing females. These findings may provide further insight into the differences in the ability of the ticks to acquire, maintain and transmit pathogens. Future studies on possible causes and consequences of these differences will shed additional light on tick microbiome biology and vector competence.
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Project description:Data regarding the type, frequency, and distribution of tick-borne pathogens and bacterial agents are not widely available for many tick species that parasitize persons in the southern United States. We therefore analyzed the frequency and identity of pathogens and bacterial agents in ticks removed from humans and subsequently submitted to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Zoonosis Control Program, from October 1, 2004, through September 30, 2008. The data showed associations of bacterial agents and potential vectors. Tick-related illnesses may pose unidentified health risks in areas such as Texas, where incidence of human disease related to tick bites is low but well above zero and where ticks are not routinely suspected as the cause of disease. Cause, treatment, and prevention strategies can be better addressed through collecting sufficient data to establish baseline assessments of risk.
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Project description:A total of 491 Ixodes vespertilionis and 8 Ixodes ricinus collected from bats and cave walls in southern Poland between 2010 and 2012 were examined by the polymerase chain reaction for tick-transmitted pathogens. PCR analysis for Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Rickettsia spp., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum yielded negative results for all I. vespertilionis. DNA of Rickettsia helvetica was detected in three specimens of I. ricinus attached to Rhinolophus hipposideros or Myotis myotis, while Borrelia garinii was found in one tick parasitizing Myotis daubentonii. These pathogens were recorded for the first time in hard ticks that parasitized bats.
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Project description:Tick-borne rickettsioses are world-spreading infectious zoonoses. Ticks serve as reservoirs and vectors for Rickettsia and play a key role in transmission of rickettsioses. Most of the Chinese rickettsiosis patients are reported from Northeastern China but the distribution of tick and tick-borne Rickettsia species in Northeastern China remain poorly studied. In this study, a total of 1,286 ticks were captured from the seven counties of Harbin, an area in Northeastern China, and the tick-borne Rickettsia species were identified by PCR and sequencing of rrs, gltA, groEL, ompA and 17-kDa antigen-encoding genes. Of the 5 identified tick species, Haemaphysalis longicornis and Ixodes persulcatus were the predominant tick species in the livestock and vegetation, respectively. Rickettsia raoultii and "Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae" were the two detectable Rickettsia species in the ticks with a 28.8% positive rate but no rickettsiae were found in ticks of Haemaphysalis concinna. R. raoultii detected in 37.6% of the Dermacentor nuttalli, Dermacentor silvarum and H. longicornis ticks while "Ca. R. tarasevichiae" was only present in 22.8% of the I. persulcatus ticks. In particular, the positive rate of both R. raoultii and "Ca. R. tarasevichiae" in ticks from the livestock (40.7%) was significantly higher than that from the vegetation (19.5%). The results indicate that the tick and tick-borne Rickettsia species are diverse in different regions of Harbin due to geographic difference and the ticks from livestock may play a more important role in transmission of rickettsioses to human.
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