Abstract
BackgroundOur study aimed to assess the presence of different pathogens in ticks collected in two regions in Côte d’Ivoire.Methodology/Principal FindingsReal-time PCR and standard PCR assays coupled to sequencing were used. Three hundred and seventy eight (378) ticks (170 Amblyomma variegatum, 161 Rhipicepalus microplus, 3 Rhipicephalus senegalensis, 27 Hyalomma truncatum, 16 Hyalomma marginatum rufipes, and 1 Hyalomma impressum) were identified and analyzed. We identified as pathogenic bacteria, Rickettsia africae in Am. variegatum (90%), Rh. microplus (10%) and Hyalomma spp. (9%), Rickettsia aeschlimannii in Hyalomma spp. (23%), Rickettsia massiliae in Rh. senegalensis (33%) as well as Coxiella burnetii in 0.2%, Borrelia sp. in 0.2%, Anaplasma centrale in 0.2%, Anaplasma marginale in 0.5%, and Ehrlichia ruminantium in 0.5% of all ticks. Potential new species of Borrelia, Anaplasma, and Wolbachia were detected. Candidatus Borrelia africana and Candidatus Borrelia ivorensis (detected in three ticks) are phylogenetically distant from both the relapsing fever group and Lyme disease group borreliae; both were detected in Am. variegatum. Four new genotypes of bacteria from the Anaplasmataceae family were identified, namely Candidatus Anaplasma ivorensis (detected in three ticks), Candidatus Ehrlichia urmitei (in nine ticks), Candidatus Ehrlichia rustica (in four ticks), and Candidatus Wolbachia ivorensis (in one tick).Conclusions/SignificanceFor the first time, we demonstrate the presence of different pathogens such as R. aeschlimannii, C. burnetii, Borrelia sp., A. centrale, A. marginale, and E. ruminantium in ticks in Côte d’Ivoire as well as potential new species of unknown pathogenicity.
Highlights
Ticks are important vectors of many pathogens and are considered as the second biggest vectors of human and animal diseases after mosquitoes [1,2]
We identified as pathogenic bacteria, Rickettsia africae in Am. variegatum (90%), Rh. microplus (10%) and Hyalomma spp. (9%), Rickettsia aeschlimannii in Hyalomma spp. (23%), Rickettsia massiliae in Rh. senegalensis (33%) as well as Coxiella burnetii in 0.2%, Borrelia sp. in 0.2%, Anaplasma centrale in 0.2%, Anaplasma marginale in 0.5%, and Ehrlichia ruminantium in 0.5% of all ticks
We aimed to search for different pathogenic bacteria in ticks in order to understand if there is the background for tick-borne diseases
Summary
Ticks are important vectors of many pathogens and are considered as the second biggest vectors of human and animal diseases after mosquitoes [1,2]. Many tick-borne bacterial emerging diseases such as spotted fevers, borrelioses, anaplasmoses, ehrlichioses, and Q fever have been described worldwide [3,4,5]. It was recently shown that in many tropical countries tick- and acari-borne infections play important role in human pathology. In Senegal, for instance, arthropod-borne borreliosis and rickettsiosis were identified in 16.3% of acute fevers recorded by rural dispensaries [6]. Acari-borne tsutsugamushi fever is one of the major causes of acute febrile morbidity in South-Eastern Asia [7]. Investigations of the vectors of tick-borne diseases are one of the main keys to controlling related morbidity [8]. Our study aimed to assess the presence of different pathogens in ticks collected in two regions in Côte d’Ivoire
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