TY - JOUR
T1 - Detection of pathogens in Dermacentor reticulatus in northwestern Europe
T2 - evaluation of a high-throughput array
AU - Sprong, Hein
AU - Fonville, Manoj
AU - Docters van Leeuwen, Arieke
AU - Devillers, Elodie
AU - Ibañez-Justicia, Adolfo
AU - Stroo, Arjan
AU - Hansford, Kayleigh
AU - Cull, Benjamin
AU - Medlock, Jolyon
AU - Heyman, Paul
AU - Cochez, Christel
AU - Weis, Lisa
AU - Silaghi, Cornelia
AU - Moutailler, Sara
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - Background: The geographic distribution of Dermacentor reticulatus is expanding in Europe. Surveillance of this tick species and its pathogens is desirable, as it transmits pathogens of public and veterinary importance. A high-throughput real-time PCR-based array was used to screen 1.741 D. reticulatus ticks from Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, and Great Britain for the presence of 28 tick-borne bacteria and twelve protozoan parasites. The presence of pathogen DNA was confirmed by conventional PCR followed by sequencing. Results: The array detected the presence of DNA from Borrelia spp. (7%), B. afzelii (0.1%), B. garinii (0.1%), B. spielmanii (0.1%), B. miyamotoi (0.2%), Anaplasma marginale (0.1%), A. phagocytophilum (0.1%), Ehrlichia canis (2%), Rickettsia helvetica (0.2%), spotted fever group Rickettsia (9.6%), Francisella tularensis or Francisella-like endosymbionts (95%), Coxiella burnettii (0.1%), Babesia divergens (0.2%), B. canis (0.9%) B. vogeli (5.6%), and Theileria equi (0.1%). Only the presence of B. canis and spotted fever group Rickettsia could be confirmed by conventional PCR and sequencing. The spotted fever Rickettsia-positive samples were all identified as R. raoultii. Conclusions: We successfully detected and determined the prevalence of B. canis and R. raoultii in D. reticulatus. An high-throughput array that allows fast and comprehensive testing of tick-borne pathogens is advantageous for surveillance and future epidemiological studies. The importance of thorough validation of real-time PCR-based assays and careful interpretation is evident.
AB - Background: The geographic distribution of Dermacentor reticulatus is expanding in Europe. Surveillance of this tick species and its pathogens is desirable, as it transmits pathogens of public and veterinary importance. A high-throughput real-time PCR-based array was used to screen 1.741 D. reticulatus ticks from Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, and Great Britain for the presence of 28 tick-borne bacteria and twelve protozoan parasites. The presence of pathogen DNA was confirmed by conventional PCR followed by sequencing. Results: The array detected the presence of DNA from Borrelia spp. (7%), B. afzelii (0.1%), B. garinii (0.1%), B. spielmanii (0.1%), B. miyamotoi (0.2%), Anaplasma marginale (0.1%), A. phagocytophilum (0.1%), Ehrlichia canis (2%), Rickettsia helvetica (0.2%), spotted fever group Rickettsia (9.6%), Francisella tularensis or Francisella-like endosymbionts (95%), Coxiella burnettii (0.1%), Babesia divergens (0.2%), B. canis (0.9%) B. vogeli (5.6%), and Theileria equi (0.1%). Only the presence of B. canis and spotted fever group Rickettsia could be confirmed by conventional PCR and sequencing. The spotted fever Rickettsia-positive samples were all identified as R. raoultii. Conclusions: We successfully detected and determined the prevalence of B. canis and R. raoultii in D. reticulatus. An high-throughput array that allows fast and comprehensive testing of tick-borne pathogens is advantageous for surveillance and future epidemiological studies. The importance of thorough validation of real-time PCR-based assays and careful interpretation is evident.
KW - Microbiology
KW - Molecular biology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062097930&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01270
DO - 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01270
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062097930
SN - 2405-8440
VL - 5
JO - Heliyon
JF - Heliyon
IS - 2
M1 - e01270
ER -