Open AccessMolecular investigation of tick-borne pathogens in ticks removed from tick-bitten humans in the southwestern region of the Republic of Korea
Author(s) -
Mi Seon Bang,
Choon-Mee Kim,
Sang-Hyun Pyun,
Dong-Min Kim,
Na Ra Yun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0252992
Subject(s) - tick , biology , anaplasma phagocytophilum , spotted fever , tick borne disease , babesia , haemaphysalis longicornis , dermacentor , rickettsia , virology , haemaphysalis , anaplasma , ixodidae , ixodes , microbiology and biotechnology , zoology , borrelia burgdorferi , immunology , virus , antibody
In this study, we investigated the presence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks removed from tick-bitten humans in the southwestern provinces of the Republic of Korea (ROK). We identified 33 ticks from three tick species, namely Amblyomma testudinarium (60.6%), Haemaphysalis longicornis (27.3%), and Ixodes nipponensis (12.1%) in order of occurrence via morphology and 16S rDNA-targeting polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Tick-borne pathogens were detected in 16 ticks using pathogen-specific PCR. From the results, 12 ticks (36.4%) tested positive for spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia : Rickettsia monacensis (1/12), R . tamurae (8/12), and Candidatus Rickettsia jingxinensis (3/12). Three ticks (9.1%) were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum . In addition, three ticks (9.1%) tested positive for Babesia gibsoni (1/3) and B . microti (2/3). In conclusion, we identified three tick species; the most common species was A . testudinarium , followed by H . longicornis and I . nipponensis . SFG Rickettsia , A . phagocytophilum , and Babesia spp. were the most frequently detected pathogens in ticks removed from tick-bitten humans. To our knowledge, this is the first report of R . tamurae and Ca . R. jingxinensis detection in Korea. The present results will contribute to the understanding of tick-borne infections in animals and humans in the ROK.