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Ullah S, Huang JS, Khan A, Cossío-Bayúgar R, Nasreen N, Niaz S, Khan A, Yen TY, Tsai KH, Ben Said M. First report of Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., and Rickettsia spp. in Amblyomma gervaisi ticks infesting monitor lizards (Varanus begalensis) of Pakistan. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2024; 118:105569. [PMID: 38354994 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2024.105569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Ticks pose significant health risks to both wildlife and humans due to their role as vectors for various pathogens. In this study, we investigated tick infestation patterns, tick-associated pathogens, and genetic relationships within the tick species Amblyomma gervaisi, focusing on its prevalence in monitor lizards (Varanus bengalensis) across different districts in Pakistan. We examined 85 monitor lizards and identified an overall mean intensity of 19.59 ticks per infested lizard and an overall mean abundance of 11.98 ticks per examined lizard. All collected ticks (n = 1019) were morphologically identified as A. gervaisi, including 387 males, 258 females, 353 nymphs, and 21 larvae. The highest tick prevalence was observed in the Buner district, followed by Torghar and Shangla, with the lowest prevalence in Chitral. Lizard captures primarily occurred from May to October, correlating with the period of higher tick infestations. Molecular analysis was conducted on tick DNA, revealing genetic similarities among A. gervaisi ticks based on 16S rDNA and ITS2 sequences. Notably, we found the absence of A. gervaisi ITS2 sequences in the NCBI GenBank, highlighting a gap in existing genetic data. Moreover, our study identified the presence of pathogenic microorganisms, including Ehrlichia sp., Candidatus Ehrlichia dumleri, Anaplasma sp., Francisella sp., Rickettsia sp., and Coxiella sp., in these ticks. BLAST analysis revealed significant similarities between these pathogenic sequences and known strains, emphasizing the potential role of these ticks as vectors for zoonotic diseases. Phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ITS2 and mitochondrial 16S rDNA genes illustrated the genetic relationships of A. gervaisi ticks from Pakistan with other Amblyomma species, providing insights into their evolutionary history. These findings contribute to our understanding of tick infestation patterns, and tick-borne pathogens in monitor lizards, which has implications for wildlife health, zoonotic disease transmission, and future conservation efforts. Further research in this area is crucial for a comprehensive assessment of the risks associated with tick-borne diseases in both wildlife and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shakir Ullah
- Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
| | - Jing-Syuan Huang
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Afshan Khan
- Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
| | - Raquel Cossío-Bayúgar
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Disciplinaria en Salud Animal eInocuidad, INIFAP, Km 11 Carretera Federal Cuernavaca- Cuautla, No. 8534, Col. Progreso, CP 62550 Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Nasreen Nasreen
- Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
| | - Sadaf Niaz
- Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
| | - Adil Khan
- Department of Zoology, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda 24420, Pakistan.
| | - Tsai-Ying Yen
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kun-Hsien Tsai
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Global Health Program, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Mourad Ben Said
- Laboratory of Microbiology, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba 2010, Tunisia; Department of Basic Sciences, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba 2010, Tunisia
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Zhou Y, Wang Q, Shen Y, Shen B, Zhang Y, Wang W, Li X. A Case of Critical Japanese Spotted Fever in Zhejiang, China. Infect Drug Resist 2023; 16:3425-3430. [PMID: 37283937 PMCID: PMC10241177 DOI: 10.2147/idr.s408499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Japanese spotted fever (JSF) is a rare disease, caused by Rickettsia japonica; no case has been reported in Zhejiang Province, China. Case Presentation An elderly woman presented to the hospital with abdominal pain and fever. Her condition rapidly worsened with severe complications, such as multiple organ failure and central nervous system damage. The presence of R. japonica was quickly detected by metagenomic next-generation sequencing. On the basis of combined clinical manifestations and laboratory results, critical JSF was diagnosed and treated with doxycycline. The patient showed good prognosis. Typical symptoms (eschar and rash) were not observed in the early stage, consequently increasing the difficulty of clinical diagnosis. Conclusion The delay of treatment caused by non-specific symptoms is an important factor affecting the progression of JSF. As an emerging pathogen detection method, mNGS has been successfully applied for disease diagnosis and treatment, and can be an important complement for the diagnosis of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yani Zhou
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yujuan Shen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Bin Shen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Nursing, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Weihong Wang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaofeng Li
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China
- Huzhou Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine Research and Translation for Infectious Diseases, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China
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Gui Z, Cai H, Wu L, Miao Q, Yu JF, Cai T, Mao R. Visual closed dumbbell-mediated isothermal amplification (CDA) for on-site detection of Rickettsia raoultii. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010747. [PMID: 36084136 PMCID: PMC9491570 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses are important zoonoses, threatening human health seriously and gradually attracting more attention in the world. SFG rickettsiae are classified as neglected pathogens. If these pathogens are detected at all, they are usually recognized very late in the infection through indirect detection of specific antibodies. Previous studies have shown that Rickettsia raoultii (R. raoultii), a member of the SFG rickettsiae, occurs with increasing incidence in remote countries. Therefore, a rapid detection method for R. raoultii is in urgently need. In this study, a R. raoultii diagnosis method by closed dumbbell-mediated isothermal amplification (R-CDA) assay targeting a conserved sequence of the outer membrane protein A (OmpA) gene with high sensitivity and specificity was developed. This assay offered a rapid and simple method for on-site detection of R. raoultii. Firstly, four pairs of R-CDA primers were designed and the optimum primer set was selected to amplify target gene specifically and effectively. Then, a pair of outer primer was designed to accelerate the reaction based on the inner primers to establish the RO-CDA reaction. In addition, the results of real-time amplification curves, melting curves and end-point colorimetric judgements showed that the established visual RO-CDA reaction could accurately detect R. raoultii without cross-reaction with other closely related pathogens. Furthermore, the detection limit of visual RO-CDA assay was 10 copies/μL, which was feasible for on-site detection with merits of easy-operation, rapidity, high sensitivity, and specificity. In conclusion, the developed RO-CDA detection method could be helpful for pathogen screening and epidemic prevention at the point of care. Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses are important neglected zoonoses throughout the world, with expanding known distribution, among which R. raoultii is an emerging member. As the clinical symptoms of R. raoultii is similar to other diseases, the accurate diagnosis of the pathogen based on the detection of genome plays a vital role in effective treatment and control at low infection levels. Due to the lack of on-site detection technology of Rickettsia raoultii in remote areas, the pathogen can only be treated in the late infection stage with specific clinical symptoms. Closed dumbbell-mediated isothermal amplification (CDA) is a method that rapidly amplifies nucleic acids under isothermal condition, which can help to resolve the problem of point of care detection for R. raoultii. The established R. raoultii detection approach based on CDA was feasible for on-site detection with merits of easy-operation, rapidity, high sensitivity, and specificity. At last, compared with PCR and LAMP, CDA method is simpler and more efficient to detect R. raoultii, which helps to improve the efficiency of detection and strengthen the prevention and control of this neglected but widely distributed disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Gui
- Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Digestive System Tumors of Zhejiang Province, Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
- Ningbo Institute of Life and Health Industry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
| | - Hao Cai
- Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Digestive System Tumors of Zhejiang Province, Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
- Ningbo Institute of Life and Health Industry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
| | - Lin Wu
- Graduate School, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Qing Miao
- Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Digestive System Tumors of Zhejiang Province, Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
- Ningbo Institute of Life and Health Industry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
| | - Jing feng Yu
- Department of Parasitology, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
- * E-mail: (JY); (TC); (RM)
| | - Ting Cai
- Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Digestive System Tumors of Zhejiang Province, Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
- Ningbo Institute of Life and Health Industry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
- * E-mail: (JY); (TC); (RM)
| | - Rui Mao
- Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Digestive System Tumors of Zhejiang Province, Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
- Ningbo Institute of Life and Health Industry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
- * E-mail: (JY); (TC); (RM)
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An Update on the Laboratory Diagnosis of Rickettsia spp. Infection. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10101319. [PMID: 34684267 PMCID: PMC8541673 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10101319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Rickettsia species causing human illness are present globally and can cause significant disease. Diagnosis and identification of this intracellular bacteria are challenging with many available diagnostic modalities suffering from several shortcomings. Detection of antibodies directed against Rickettsia spp. via serological methods remains widely used with a broad range of sensitivity and specificity values reported depending on the assay. Molecular methods, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, enables species-specific identification with a fast turnaround time; however, due to resource requirements, use in some endemic settings is limited. Reports on the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and metagenomics to diagnose Rickettsia spp. infection have been increasing. Despite offering several potential advantages in the diagnosis and surveillance of disease, genomic approaches are currently only limited to reference and research laboratories. Continued development of Rickettsia spp. diagnostics is required to improve disease detection and epidemiological surveillance, and to better understand transmission dynamics.
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