Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in Finland
Abstract Background Ticks carry microbes, some of which are pathogenic for humans and animals. To assess this One Health challenge, 342 ticks were collected from pet dogs and cats at 10 veterinary clinics in Finland as part of the European project “Protect Our Future Too”. Methods The tick species w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Parasites & Vectors |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-023-05864-4 |
| _version_ | 1797577800264187904 |
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| author | Fathiah Zakham Essi M. Korhonen Petteri T. Puonti Robert S. Castrén Ruut Uusitalo Teemu Smura Ravi Kant Olli Vapalahti Tarja Sironen Paula M. Kinnunen |
| author_facet | Fathiah Zakham Essi M. Korhonen Petteri T. Puonti Robert S. Castrén Ruut Uusitalo Teemu Smura Ravi Kant Olli Vapalahti Tarja Sironen Paula M. Kinnunen |
| author_sort | Fathiah Zakham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Ticks carry microbes, some of which are pathogenic for humans and animals. To assess this One Health challenge, 342 ticks were collected from pet dogs and cats at 10 veterinary clinics in Finland as part of the European project “Protect Our Future Too”. Methods The tick species were identified, and ticks were screened with quantitative PCR (qPCR) for tick-borne pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Borrelia miyamotoi, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), and Babesia spp. For comparison, a subset of tick DNA (20 qPCR-positive samples) was analysed with 16S next-generation sequencing (NGS). Results Most ticks were Ixodes ricinus (289, 84.5%), followed by Ixodes persulcatus (51, 14.9%). One hybrid tick (I. ricinus/I. persulcatus, 0.3%) and one Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick (0.3%) were identified. We found one or more of the analysed pathogens in 17% (59/342) of the ticks. The most prevalent pathogen was B. burgdorferi s.l. (36, 10.5%), followed by Anaplasma phagocytophilum (12, 3.5%), B. miyamotoi (5, 1.5%), Babesia venatorum (4, 1.2%), and TBEV (1, 0.3%). Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis DNA was amplified from three (0.9%) ticks. Ehrlichia canis was not detected. In the 16S NGS, six samples produced enough reads for the analysis. In these six samples, we confirmed all the positive qPCR findings of Borrelia spp. and Ca. N. mikurensis. Conclusions The high prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms in the ticks of this study emphasizes the importance of awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases and prevention. Furthermore, the results show that veterinary surveillance can facilitate early detection of tick-borne pathogens and new tick species and draw attention to possible co-infections that should be considered both in symptomatic humans and animals after tick bites. Graphical Abstract |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:13:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3da56b75e5534a6199f59a2fd98ce412 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1756-3305 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:13:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Parasites & Vectors |
| spelling | doaj.art-3da56b75e5534a6199f59a2fd98ce4122023-11-19T12:31:40ZengBMCParasites & Vectors1756-33052023-09-0116111010.1186/s13071-023-05864-4Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in FinlandFathiah Zakham0Essi M. Korhonen1Petteri T. Puonti2Robert S. Castrén3Ruut Uusitalo4Teemu Smura5Ravi Kant6Olli Vapalahti7Tarja Sironen8Paula M. Kinnunen9Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of HelsinkiAbstract Background Ticks carry microbes, some of which are pathogenic for humans and animals. To assess this One Health challenge, 342 ticks were collected from pet dogs and cats at 10 veterinary clinics in Finland as part of the European project “Protect Our Future Too”. Methods The tick species were identified, and ticks were screened with quantitative PCR (qPCR) for tick-borne pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Borrelia miyamotoi, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), and Babesia spp. For comparison, a subset of tick DNA (20 qPCR-positive samples) was analysed with 16S next-generation sequencing (NGS). Results Most ticks were Ixodes ricinus (289, 84.5%), followed by Ixodes persulcatus (51, 14.9%). One hybrid tick (I. ricinus/I. persulcatus, 0.3%) and one Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick (0.3%) were identified. We found one or more of the analysed pathogens in 17% (59/342) of the ticks. The most prevalent pathogen was B. burgdorferi s.l. (36, 10.5%), followed by Anaplasma phagocytophilum (12, 3.5%), B. miyamotoi (5, 1.5%), Babesia venatorum (4, 1.2%), and TBEV (1, 0.3%). Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis DNA was amplified from three (0.9%) ticks. Ehrlichia canis was not detected. In the 16S NGS, six samples produced enough reads for the analysis. In these six samples, we confirmed all the positive qPCR findings of Borrelia spp. and Ca. N. mikurensis. Conclusions The high prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms in the ticks of this study emphasizes the importance of awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases and prevention. Furthermore, the results show that veterinary surveillance can facilitate early detection of tick-borne pathogens and new tick species and draw attention to possible co-infections that should be considered both in symptomatic humans and animals after tick bites. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-023-05864-4Anaplasma spp.Babesia spp.Borrelia spp.Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensisEhrlichia canisIxodid ticks |
| spellingShingle | Fathiah Zakham Essi M. Korhonen Petteri T. Puonti Robert S. Castrén Ruut Uusitalo Teemu Smura Ravi Kant Olli Vapalahti Tarja Sironen Paula M. Kinnunen Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in Finland Parasites & Vectors Anaplasma spp. Babesia spp. Borrelia spp. Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis Ehrlichia canis Ixodid ticks |
| title | Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in Finland |
| title_full | Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in Finland |
| title_fullStr | Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in Finland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in Finland |
| title_short | Molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in Finland |
| title_sort | molecular detection of pathogens from ticks collected from dogs and cats at veterinary clinics in finland |
| topic | Anaplasma spp. Babesia spp. Borrelia spp. Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis Ehrlichia canis Ixodid ticks |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-023-05864-4 |
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