Dataset Information

Molecular and Phylogenetic Analysis of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ticks Parasitizing Native Korean Goats (Capra hircus coreanae) in South Korea.

ABSTRACT: Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are considered zoonotic re-emerging pathogens, with ticks playing important roles in their transmission and ecology. Previous studies in South Korea have examined TBPs residing in ticks; however, there is no phylogenetic information on TBPs in ticks parasitizing native Korean goat (NKG; Capra hircus coreanae). The present study assessed the prevalence, risk factors, and co-infectivity of TBPs in ticks parasitizing NKGs. In total, 107 hard ticks, including Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes nipponensis, and Haemaphysalis flava, were obtained from NKGs in South Korea between 2016 and 2019. In 40 tested tick pools, genes for four TBPs, namely Coxiella-like endosymbiont (CLE, 5.0%), Candidatus Rickettsia longicornii (45.0%), Anaplasma bovis (2.5%), and Theileria luwenshuni (5.0%) were detected. Ehrlichia, Bartonella spp., and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus were not detected. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report CLE and T. luwenshuni in H. flava ticks in South Korea. Considering the high prevalence of Candidatus R. longicornii in ticks parasitizing NKGs, there is a possibility of its transmission from ticks to animals and humans. NKG ticks might be maintenance hosts for TBPs, and we recommend evaluation of the potential public health threat posed by TBP-infected ticks.

SUBMITTER: Seo MG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7168648 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Molecular and Phylogenetic Analysis of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ticks Parasitizing Native Korean Goats (Capra hircus coreanae) in South Korea.

Seo Min-Goo MG Kwon Oh-Deog OD Kwak Dongmi D

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) 20200121 2

Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are considered zoonotic re-emerging pathogens, with ticks playing important roles in their transmission and ecology. Previous studies in South Korea have examined TBPs residing in ticks; however, there is no phylogenetic information on TBPs in ticks parasitizing native Korean goat (NKG; Capra hircus coreanae). The present study assessed the prevalence, risk factors, and co-infectivity of TBPs in ticks parasitizing NKGs. In total, 107 hard ticks, including Ha ...[more]

PMID: 31973172

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Project description:A variety of human diseases transmitted by arthropod vectors, including ticks, are emerging around the globe. Birds are known to be hosts of ticks and can disperse exotic ticks and tick-borne pathogens. In Taiwan, previous studies have focused predominantly on mammals, leaving the role of birds in the maintenance of ticks and dissemination of tick-borne pathogens undetermined.Ticks were collected opportunistically when birds were studied from 1995 to 2013. Furthermore, to improve knowledge on the prevalence and mean load of tick infestation on birds in Taiwan, ticks were thoroughly searched for when birds were mist-netted at seven sites between September 2014 and April 2016 in eastern Taiwan. Ticks were identified based on both morphological and molecular information and were screened for potential tick-borne pathogens, including the genera Anaplasma, Babesia, Borrelia, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia. Finally, a list of hard tick species collected from birds in Taiwan was compiled based on past work and the current study.Nineteen ticks (all larvae) were recovered from four of the 3096 unique mist-netted bird individuals, yielding a mean load of 0.006 ticks/individual and an overall prevalence of 0.13%. A total of 139 ticks from birds, comprising 48 larvae, 35 nymphs, 55 adults and one individual of unknown life stage, were collected from 1995 to 2016, and 11 species of four genera were identified, including three newly recorded species (Haemaphysalis wellingtoni, Ixodes columnae and Ixodes turdus). A total of eight tick-borne pathogens were detected, with five species (Borrelia turdi, Anaplasma sp. clone BJ01, Ehrlichia sp. BL157-9, Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis) not previously isolated in Taiwan. Overall, 16 tick species of five genera have been recorded feeding on birds, including nine species first discovered in this study.Our study demonstrates the paucity of information on ticks of birds and emphasizes the need for more research on ticks of birds in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Moreover, some newly recorded ticks and tick-borne pathogens were found only on migratory birds, demonstrating the necessity of further surveillance on these highly mobile species.

Project description:Animal emotional states can be investigated by evaluating their impact on cognitive processes. In this study, we used a judgement bias paradigm to determine if short-term positive human-animal interaction (grooming) induced a positive affective state in goats. We tested two groups of goats and trained them to discriminate between a rewarded and a non-rewarded location over nine training days. During training, the experimental group (n = 9) was gently groomed by brushing their heads and backs for five min over 11 days (nine training days, plus two testing days, total time 55 min). During training, the control group (n = 10) did not experience any direct interaction with the experimenter, but was kept unconstrained next to him for the same period of time. After successful completion of the training, the responses (latency time) of the two groups to reach ambiguous locations situated between the two reference locations (i.e., rewarded/non-rewarded) were compared over two days of testing. There was not a positive bias effect after the animals had been groomed. In a second experiment, 10 goats were tested to investigate whether grooming induced changes in physiological activation (i.e., heart rate and heart rate variability). Heart rate increased when goats were groomed compared to the baseline condition, when the same goats did not receive any contact with the experimenter. Also, subjects did not move away from the experimenter, suggesting that the grooming was positively accepted. The very good care and the regular positive contacts that goats received from humans at the study site could potentially account for the results obtained. Good husbandry outcomes are influenced by animals' perception of the events and this is based on current circumstances, past experiences and individual variables. Taking into account animals' individual characteristics and identifying effective strategies to induce positive emotions could increase the understanding and reliability of using cognitive biases paradigms to investigate and promote animal welfare.

Dataset Information

Molecular and Phylogenetic Analysis of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ticks Parasitizing Native Korean Goats (Capra hircus coreanae) in South Korea.

Publications

Molecular and Phylogenetic Analysis of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ticks Parasitizing Native Korean Goats (<i>Capra hircus coreanae</i>) in South Korea.

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