TY - JOUR
T1 - Neoehrlichia mikurensis—A New Emerging Tick-Borne Pathogen in North-Eastern Poland?
AU - Szczotko, Magdalena
AU - Kubiak, Katarzyna
AU - Michalski, Mirosław Mariusz
AU - Moerbeck, Leonardo
AU - Antunes, Sandra
AU - Domingos, Ana
AU - Dmitryjuk, Małgorzata
N1 - Funding Information:
The publication was written as a result of the author’s internship in the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal, co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund (Operational Program Knowledge Education Development), carried out in the project Development Program at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (POWR.03.05. 00-00-Z310/17), M.D. This study was also supported by GHTM–UID/Multi/04413/2013, A.D., S.A., L.M.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - Neoehrlichia mikurensis is a new emerging tick-borne Gram-negative bacterium, belonging to the family Anaplasmataceae, the main vector of which in Europe is the tick Ixodes ricinus. N. mikurensis is responsible for neoehrlichiosis, occurring mostly in patients with underlying diseases. In the present study, a total of 348 I. ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks collected in north-eastern Poland were analyzed for the prevalence of N. mikurensis. A total of 140 questing ticks (124 of I. ricinus ticks and 16 D. reticulatus) collected with the flagging method and 208 ticks (105 and 103 I. ricinus and D. reticulatus, respectively) removed from dogs were selected for the study. cDNA (questing ticks) and total DNA (questing and feeding ticks) were analyzed by qPCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene of N. mikurensis. Positive samples were further analyzed by nested PCR and sequencing. The prevalence differed between ticks collected from vegetation (19.3%; 27/140) and ticks removed from dogs (6.7%; 14/208). The presence of the pathogen in questing and feeding D. reticulatus ticks was proven in Poland for the first time. In summary, our research showed that infections of ticks of both the most common tick species I. ricinus and D. reticulatus in north-eastern Poland are present and ticks collected from urban areas were more often infected than ticks from suburban and natural areas. The detection of N. mikurensis in I. ricinus and D. reticulatus ticks from north-eastern Poland indicates potential transmission risk for tick-bitten humans at this latitude.
AB - Neoehrlichia mikurensis is a new emerging tick-borne Gram-negative bacterium, belonging to the family Anaplasmataceae, the main vector of which in Europe is the tick Ixodes ricinus. N. mikurensis is responsible for neoehrlichiosis, occurring mostly in patients with underlying diseases. In the present study, a total of 348 I. ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks collected in north-eastern Poland were analyzed for the prevalence of N. mikurensis. A total of 140 questing ticks (124 of I. ricinus ticks and 16 D. reticulatus) collected with the flagging method and 208 ticks (105 and 103 I. ricinus and D. reticulatus, respectively) removed from dogs were selected for the study. cDNA (questing ticks) and total DNA (questing and feeding ticks) were analyzed by qPCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene of N. mikurensis. Positive samples were further analyzed by nested PCR and sequencing. The prevalence differed between ticks collected from vegetation (19.3%; 27/140) and ticks removed from dogs (6.7%; 14/208). The presence of the pathogen in questing and feeding D. reticulatus ticks was proven in Poland for the first time. In summary, our research showed that infections of ticks of both the most common tick species I. ricinus and D. reticulatus in north-eastern Poland are present and ticks collected from urban areas were more often infected than ticks from suburban and natural areas. The detection of N. mikurensis in I. ricinus and D. reticulatus ticks from north-eastern Poland indicates potential transmission risk for tick-bitten humans at this latitude.
KW - Dermacentor reticulatus
KW - Ixodes ricinus
KW - Neoehrlichia mikurensis
KW - One Health
KW - tick-borne pathogen
KW - ticks
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148732945&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/pathogens12020307
DO - 10.3390/pathogens12020307
M3 - Article
C2 - 36839579
AN - SCOPUS:85148732945
SN - 2076-0817
VL - 12
JO - Pathogens
JF - Pathogens
IS - 2
M1 - 307
ER -