4.5 Article

Rickettsia lusitaniae in Ornithodoros Porcinus Ticks, Zambia

Journal

PATHOGENS
Volume 10, Issue 10, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10101306

Keywords

Rickettsiae; Rickettsia lusitaniae; Ornithodoros porcinus; Argasid; Zambia

Categories

Funding

  1. Department of Veterinary Services under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock of the Government of the Republic of Zambia
  2. Japan Program for Infectious Diseases Research and Infrastructure from Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) [JP21wm0125008]
  3. AMED [JP21jm0110019]
  4. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) [JP21jm0110019]
  5. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan [16H06429, 16H06431, 16K21723]
  6. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI [16H05805]
  7. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health 'Spatial eco-epidemiology of tick-borne rickettsial pathogens' [R01AI136035]

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This study detected Rickettsia lusitaniae in warthog burrow-dwelling soft ticks in national parks in Zambia, indicating a wider geographic and vector range for this pathogen in sub-Saharan Africa. The results provide new insights into the epidemiology of Rickettsia species and highlight the potential role of soft ticks in the transmission of these pathogens.
Rickettsial pathogens are amongst the emerging and re-emerging vector-borne zoonoses of public health importance. Though traditionally considered to be transmitted by ixodid ticks, the role of argasid ticks as vectors of these pathogens is increasingly being recognized. While bat-feeding (Ornithodoros faini) and chicken-feeding (Argas walkerae) argasid ticks have been shown to harbor Rickettsia pathogens in Zambia, there are currently no reports of Rickettsia infection in southern Africa from warthog-feeding (Phacochoerus africanus) soft ticks, particularly Ornithodoros moubata and Ornithodoros porcinus. Our study sought to expand on the existing knowledge on the role of soft ticks in the epidemiology of Rickettsia species through screening for Rickettsia pathogens in warthog burrow-dwelling soft ticks from two national parks in Zambia. The tick species from which Rickettsia were detected in this study were identified as Ornithodoros porcinus, and an overall minimal Rickettsia infection rate of 19.8% (32/162) was observed. All of the sequenced Rickettsia were identified as Rickettsia lusitaniae based on nucleotide sequence similarity and phylogenetic analysis of the citrate synthase (gltA) and 17kDa common antigen (htrA) genes. Utilizing all of the gltA (n = 10) and htrA (n = 12) nucleotide sequences obtained in this study, BLAST analysis showed 100% nucleotide similarity to Rickettsia lusitaniae. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all of the Zambian gltA and htrA gene sequences could be grouped with those of Rickettsia lusitaniae obtained in various parts of the world. Our data suggest that Rickettsia lusitaniae has a wider geographic and vector range, enhancing to our understanding of Rickettsia lusitaniae epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa.

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