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BMC Microbiology Aug 2023With almost 700 000 estimated cases each year in the United States and Europe, Lyme borreliosis (LB), also called Lyme disease, is the most common tick-borne illness in... (Review)
Review
With almost 700 000 estimated cases each year in the United States and Europe, Lyme borreliosis (LB), also called Lyme disease, is the most common tick-borne illness in the world. Transmitted by ticks of the genus Ixodes and caused by bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, LB occurs with various symptoms, such as erythema migrans, which is characteristic, whereas others involve blurred clinical features such as fatigue, headaches, arthralgia, and myalgia. The diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis, based on a standard two-tiered serology, is the subject of many debates and controversies, since it relies on an indirect approach which suffers from a low sensitivity depending on the stage of the disease. Above all, early detection of the disease raises some issues. Inappropriate diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis leads to therapeutic wandering, inducing potential chronic infection with a strong antibody response that fails to clear the infection. Early and proper detection of Lyme disease is essential to propose an adequate treatment to patients and avoid the persistence of the pathogen. This review presents the available tests, with an emphasis on the improvements of the current diagnosis, the innovative methods and ideas which, ultimately, will allow more precise detection of LB.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Lyme Disease; Borrelia burgdorferi; Ixodes; Europe
PubMed: 37528399
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-02935-5 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2023RNA activation (RNAa) is a burgeoning area of research in which double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) or small activating RNAs mediate the upregulation of specific genes by...
RNA activation (RNAa) is a burgeoning area of research in which double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) or small activating RNAs mediate the upregulation of specific genes by targeting the promoter sequence and/or AU-rich elements in the 3'- untranslated region (3'-UTR) of mRNA molecules. So far, studies on the phenomenon have been limited to mammals, plants, bacteria, Caenorhabditis elegans, and recently, Aedes aegypti. However, it is yet to be applied in other arthropods, including ticks, despite the ubiquitous presence of argonaute 2 protein, which is an indispensable requirement for the formation of RNA-induced transcriptional activation complex to enable a dsRNA-mediated gene activation. In this study, we demonstrated for the first time the possible presence of RNAa phenomenon in the tick vector, Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian longhorned tick). We targeted the 3'-UTR of a novel endochitinase-like gene (HlemCHT) identified previously in H. longicornis eggs for dsRNA-mediated gene activation. Our results showed an increased gene expression in eggs of H. longicornis endochitinase-dsRNA-injected (dsHlemCHT) ticks on day-13 post-oviposition. Furthermore, we observed that eggs of dsHlemCHT ticks exhibited relatively early egg development and hatching, suggesting a dsRNA-mediated activation of the HlemCHT gene in the eggs. This is the first attempt to provide evidence of RNAa in ticks. Although further studies are required to elucidate the detailed mechanism by which RNAa occurs in ticks, the outcome of this study provides new opportunities for the use of RNAa as a gene overexpression tool in future studies on tick biology, to reduce the global burden of ticks and tick-borne diseases.
Topics: Animals; Female; Ticks; Mosquito Vectors; RNA, Double-Stranded; Ixodidae; RNA, Messenger; Mammals
PubMed: 37291173
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36523-4 -
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association... Jan 2024
Topics: Humans; Animals; Ticks; Food Hypersensitivity
PubMed: 38286489
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.231067-f -
Parasitology Sep 2023Ticks transmit pathogens and harbour non-pathogenic, vertically transmitted intracellular bacteria termed endosymbionts. Almost all ticks studied to date contain 1 or... (Review)
Review
Ticks transmit pathogens and harbour non-pathogenic, vertically transmitted intracellular bacteria termed endosymbionts. Almost all ticks studied to date contain 1 or more of , , or Midichloria mitochondrii endosymbionts, indicative of their importance to tick physiology. Genomic and experimental data suggest that endosymbionts promote tick development and reproductive success. Here, we review the limited information currently available on the potential roles endosymbionts play in enhancing tick metabolism and fitness. Future studies that expand on these findings are needed to better understand endosymbionts’ contributions to tick biology. This knowledge could potentially be applied to design novel strategies that target endosymbiont function to control the spread of ticks and pathogens they vector.
Topics: Animals; Ticks; Rickettsia; Francisella; Arachnid Vectors; Symbiosis
PubMed: 37722758
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182023000793 -
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases Jul 2023The impact of tick-borne diseases caused by pathogens such as Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Borrelia miyamotoi, Rickettsia helvetica and Babesia... (Review)
Review
The impact of tick-borne diseases caused by pathogens such as Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Borrelia miyamotoi, Rickettsia helvetica and Babesia species on public health is largely unknown. Data on the prevalence of these pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks from seven countries within the North Sea Region in Europe as well as the types and availability of diagnostic tests and the main clinical features of their corresponding diseases is reported and discussed. Raised awareness is needed to discover cases of these under-recognized types of tick-borne disease, which should provide valuable insights into these diseases and their clinical significance.
Topics: Animals; Humans; North Sea; Borrelia; Tick-Borne Diseases; Ixodes; Borrelia Infections; Rickettsia; Europe
PubMed: 37116420
DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102185 -
MSphere Oct 2023Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), belonging to the family, is a novel segmented RNA virus identified in 2014 in the Jingmen region of Hubei Province, China. Up to now, JMTV... (Review)
Review
Jingmen tick virus (JMTV), belonging to the family, is a novel segmented RNA virus identified in 2014 in the Jingmen region of Hubei Province, China. Up to now, JMTV has been detected in a variety of countries or regions in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, involving a wide range of arthropods and mammals, and even humans. The JMTV genome is composed of four linear RNA segments, two of which are derived from flaviviruses, while the other two segments are unique to JMTV and has no matching virus. Currently, JMTV has been shown to have a pathogenic effect on humans. Humans who had been infected would develop viremia and variable degrees of clinical symptoms. However, the pathogenic mechanism of JMTV has not been elucidated yet. Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen the epidemiological surveillance and laboratory studies of JMTV.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Arboviruses; Ticks; Flavivirus; Flaviviridae; Europe; Mammals
PubMed: 37702505
DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00281-23 -
Parasites & Vectors Jun 2023Hedgehogs are small synanthropic mammals that live in rural areas as well as in urban and suburban areas. They can be reservoirs of several microorganisms, including... (Review)
Review
Hedgehogs are small synanthropic mammals that live in rural areas as well as in urban and suburban areas. They can be reservoirs of several microorganisms, including certain pathogenic agents that cause human and animal public health issues. Hedgehogs are often parasitized by blood-sucking arthropods, mainly hard ticks and fleas, which in turn can also carry various vector-born microorganisms of zoonotic importance. Many biotic factors, such as urbanization and agricultural mechanization, have resulted in the destruction of the hedgehog's natural habitats, leading these animals to take refuge near human dwellings, seeking food and shelter in parks and gardens and exposing humans to zoonotic agents that can be transmitted either directly by them or indirectly by their ectoparasites. In this review, we focus on the microorganisms detected in arthropods sampled from hedgehogs worldwide. Several microorganisms have been reported in ticks collected from these animals, including various Borrelia spp., Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., and Rickettsia spp. species as well as Coxiella burnetii and Leptospira spp. As for fleas, C. burnetii, Rickettsia spp., Wolbachia spp., Mycobacterium spp. and various Bartonella species have been reported. The detection of these microorganisms in arthropods does not necessarily mean that they can be transmitted to humans and animals. While the vector capacity and competence of fleas and ticks for some of these microorganisms has been proven, in other cases the microorganisms may have simply been ingested with blood taken from an infected host. Further investigations are needed to clarify this issue. As hedgehogs are protected animals, handling them is highly regulated, making it difficult to conduct epidemiological studies on them. Their ectoparasites represent a very interesting source of information on microorganisms circulating in populations of these animals, especially vector-born ones.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Arthropods; Hedgehogs; Rickettsia; Bartonella; Mammals; Siphonaptera; Ticks; Flea Infestations
PubMed: 37349802
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05764-7 -
Insects Jul 2023Invasive wild pigs are distributed across much of the U.S. and are hosts to tick vectors of human disease. Herein, adult ticks were collected from 157 wild pigs in 21...
Invasive wild pigs are distributed across much of the U.S. and are hosts to tick vectors of human disease. Herein, adult ticks were collected from 157 wild pigs in 21 northern and central Florida counties from 2019-2020 during removal efforts by USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services personnel and evaluated for their potential to be used as a method of tick-borne disease surveillance. Collected ticks were identified, screened for pathogens, and the effects of landscape metrics on tick community composition and abundance were investigated. A total of 1415 adult ticks of four species were collected. The diversity of tick species collected from wild pigs was comparable to collections made throughout the state with conventional surveillance methods. All species collected have implications for pathogen transmission to humans and other animals. , -like, and spp. were detected in ticks collected from wild pigs. These results suggest that tick collection from wild pigs is a suitable means of surveillance for pathogens and vectors. The strongest drivers of variation in tick community composition were the developed open space and mixed forest landcover classes. Fragmented shrub/scrub habitat was associated with increased tick abundance. Similar models may be useful in predicting tick abundance and distribution patterns.
PubMed: 37504618
DOI: 10.3390/insects14070612 -
Microbiology Spectrum Jun 2023Tick-borne viruses (TBVs) have attracted increasingly global public health attention. In this study, the viral compositions of five tick species, Haemaphysalis flava,...
Tick-borne viruses (TBVs) have attracted increasingly global public health attention. In this study, the viral compositions of five tick species, Haemaphysalis flava, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Dermacentor sinicus, Haemaphysalis longicornis, and Haemaphysalis campanulata, from hedgehogs and hares in Qingdao, China, were profiled via metagenomic sequencing. Thirty-six strains of 10 RNA viruses belonging to 4 viral families, including 3 viruses of , 4 viruses of , 2 viruses of , and 1 virus of , were identified in five tick species. Three novel viruses of two families, namely, Qingdao tick iflavirus (QDTIFV) of the family of and Qingdao tick phlebovirus (QDTPV) and Qingdao tick uukuvirus (QDTUV) of the family of , were found in this study. This study shows that ticks from hares and hedgehogs in Qingdao harbored diverse viruses, including some that can cause emerging infectious diseases, such as Dabie bandavirus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these tick-borne viruses were genetically related to viral strains isolated previously in Japan. These findings shed new light on the cross-sea transmission of tick-borne viruses between China and Japan. Thirty-six strains of 10 RNA viruses belonging to 4 viral families, including 3 viruses of , 4 viruses of , 2 viruses of , and 1 virus of , were identified from five tick species in Qingdao, China. A diversity of tick-borne viruses from hares and hedgehogs in Qingdao was found in this study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most of these TBVs were genetically related to Japanese strains. These findings indicate the possibility of the cross-sea transmission of TBVs between China and Japan.
Topics: Animals; Hares; Hedgehogs; Phylogeny; Ticks; Ixodidae; Viruses; RNA Viruses
PubMed: 37074196
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.05340-22