The Molecular Detection of Bacterial Infections of Public Health Importance in Hard Tick (<i>Ixodidae</i>) Nymphs Collected from the Forest Fringes of Western Ghats in the Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra States of India

oleh: Gnanasekar Ragini, Hari Kishan Raju, Ranganathan Krishnamoorthi, Ayyanar Elango, Subramanian Muthukumaravel, Ashwani Kumar

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-12-01

Deskripsi

A survey was conducted to determine the human tick-borne bacterial infections in the nymphs which were collected from Western Ghats’ fringe forest areas. Tick nymphs were collected using the flagging method from the villages where cases Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) were previously reported in the states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. A total of 200 tick pools consisting of 4587 nymphs were tested by PCR for the detection of bacteria of public health importance, such as <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> and <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. Of these, four pools (4.8%) in Karnataka and three pools (4.4%) in Maharashtra were positive for <i>Coxiella burnetii,</i> while none of the samples from Goa state were positive. <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. were positively obtained from Maharashtra (51.5%), Goa (35.42%) and Karnataka (26.19%). The sequence results of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. showed similarity to the spotted fever group <i>Candidatus Rickettsia shennongii</i>, <i>Rickettsia conorii</i> subsp. <i>heilongjiangensis</i> and <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. strain <i>koreansis.</i> Individuals are entering into the forest areas for various reasons are more likely to infect with <i>Coxiella burnetii</i>. and <i>Rickettsia</i> spp.