Spotted fever group rickettsiae detected in immature stages of ticks parasitizing on Iberian endemic lizard Lacerta schreiberi Bedriaga, 1878

0447728 - ÚBO 2016 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Kubelová, M. - Papoušek, I. - Bělohlávek, T. - Goüy de Bellocq, Joëlle - Baird, Stuart J. E. - Široký, P.
Spotted fever group rickettsiae detected in immature stages of ticks parasitizing on Iberian endemic lizard Lacerta schreiberi Bedriaga, 1878.
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. Roč. 6, č. 6 (2015), s. 711-714. ISSN 1877-959X. E-ISSN 1877-9603
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : Spotted fever group rickettsiae * Rickettsia monacensis * Rickettsia helvetica * Ixodes ricinus * Lacerta schreiberi
Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine
Impact factor: 2.690, year: 2015

Spotted fever rickettsioses are tick-borne diseases of growing public health concern. The prevalence of rickettsia-infected ticks and their ability to parasitize humans significantly influence the risk of human infection. Altogether 466 Ixodes ricinus ticks (428 nymphs and 38 larvae) collected from 73 Lacerta schreiberi lizards were examined by PCR targeting the citrate synthetase gene gltA for the presence of Rickettsia spp. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 47% of nymphs and 31.6% of larvae. They were subsequently subjected to a second PCR reaction using primers derived from the outer membrane protein rOmpA encoding gene (ompA) to detect spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFG). This analysis shows that 41.4% of nymphs and 7.9% of larvae collected from the lizards contain DNA of SFG rickettsiae. Sequencing of 43 randomly selected samples revealed two different haplotypes, both closely related to R. monacensis (39 and 4 samples, respectively). The remaining ompA negative Rickettsia spp. samples were determined to be R. helvetica based on sequencing of ompB and gltA fragments. Our results indicate that the role of Iberian endemic lizard L. schreiberi and its ectoparasites in the ecology and epidemiology of zoonotic SFG rickettsioses may be appreciable.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0249495