High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China
Tick-borne diseases have become a global health concern in recent decades. Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae have been recognized as important pathogens of human tick-borne diseases worldwide. In this study, Dermacentor everestianus (n = 646) and Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis (n = 172) ticks were c...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.968793/full |
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| author | Baoshan Lin Baoshan Lin Yin Ta Lili Hao |
| author_facet | Baoshan Lin Baoshan Lin Yin Ta Lili Hao |
| author_sort | Baoshan Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tick-borne diseases have become a global health concern in recent decades. Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae have been recognized as important pathogens of human tick-borne diseases worldwide. In this study, Dermacentor everestianus (n = 646) and Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis (n = 172) ticks were collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China. SFG rickettsiae were identified and characterized in these ticks. A total of 49.9% (408/818) ticks were infected by Rickettsia spp. with infection rates of 58.1% (100/172) and 46.7% (308/646) detected in H. qinghaiensis and D. everestianus ticks, respectively. Furthermore, 95% of Rickettsia spp. were Rickettsia raoultii-like bacteria, and 5% were related to Candidatus Rickettsia longicornii. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that SFG rickettsiae infections were firstly reported in Shiqu county for these tick species. Our results indicated that H. qinghaiensis and D. everestianus ticks from Shiqu county became highly infected with a R. raoultii-like bacteria during their feeding process. This observation is alarming because of the zoonotic potentiality of these species. Overall, the present study detected a widespread of R. raoultii-like bacteria in ticks that are considered a serious threat to domestic animals and humans in Shiqu county. The prevalence of R. raoultii-like bacteria in human and wildlife hosts should be further investigated in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:19:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11818a64d4f54ffebea909813f8c9960 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:19:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-11818a64d4f54ffebea909813f8c99602022-12-22T00:58:51ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2022-07-011310.3389/fmicb.2022.968793968793High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, ChinaBaoshan Lin0Baoshan Lin1Yin Ta2Lili Hao3College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, ChinaAnimal Disease Prevention and Control Center of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Markang, ChinaCollege of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, ChinaCollege of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, ChinaTick-borne diseases have become a global health concern in recent decades. Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae have been recognized as important pathogens of human tick-borne diseases worldwide. In this study, Dermacentor everestianus (n = 646) and Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis (n = 172) ticks were collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China. SFG rickettsiae were identified and characterized in these ticks. A total of 49.9% (408/818) ticks were infected by Rickettsia spp. with infection rates of 58.1% (100/172) and 46.7% (308/646) detected in H. qinghaiensis and D. everestianus ticks, respectively. Furthermore, 95% of Rickettsia spp. were Rickettsia raoultii-like bacteria, and 5% were related to Candidatus Rickettsia longicornii. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that SFG rickettsiae infections were firstly reported in Shiqu county for these tick species. Our results indicated that H. qinghaiensis and D. everestianus ticks from Shiqu county became highly infected with a R. raoultii-like bacteria during their feeding process. This observation is alarming because of the zoonotic potentiality of these species. Overall, the present study detected a widespread of R. raoultii-like bacteria in ticks that are considered a serious threat to domestic animals and humans in Shiqu county. The prevalence of R. raoultii-like bacteria in human and wildlife hosts should be further investigated in the future.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.968793/fullSFG rickettsiaeticksShiquhigh prevalenceyaks (Bos grunniens) |
| spellingShingle | Baoshan Lin Baoshan Lin Yin Ta Lili Hao High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China Frontiers in Microbiology SFG rickettsiae ticks Shiqu high prevalence yaks (Bos grunniens) |
| title | High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China |
| title_full | High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China |
| title_fullStr | High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China |
| title_short | High prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks (Bos grunniens) in Shiqu county, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China |
| title_sort | high prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from yaks bos grunniens in shiqu county eastern tibetan plateau china |
| topic | SFG rickettsiae ticks Shiqu high prevalence yaks (Bos grunniens) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.968793/full |
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