The first direct detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. diversity in ticks from Ningxia, northwestern China.

IF 3.4 2区医学 Q1 PARASITOLOGY

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Pub Date : 2025-01-02 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0012729

Wen-Jie Zhu, Run-Ze Ye, Di Tian, Ning Wang, Wan-Ying Gao, Bai-Hui Wang, Zhe-Tao Lin, Ya-Ting Liu, Yi-Fei Wang, Dai-Yun Zhu, Yi Sun, Xiao-Yu Shi, Wen-Qiang Shi, Na Jia, Jia-Fu Jiang, Xiao-Ming Cui, Zhi-Hong Liu, Wu-Chun Cao

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Tick-borne infectious diseases caused by the spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) have continuously emerging, with many previously unidentified SFGR species reported. The prevalence of SFGRs in northwestern China remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of SFGRs and Anaplasma species by analyzing tick samples collected from the Ningxia region.

Methods: During 2022-2023, ticks were collected from Ningxia, northwestern China, and screened using PCR to amplify target genes (16S rRNA, gltA, ompA and groEL). The amplicons were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Single-gene sequences and concatenated sequences were used to infer phylogenetic relationships for identifying Rickettsia species.

Results: Out of the 425 DNA samples, a total of 210 samples tested positive for SFGRs in ticks from Ningxia, China, with a relatively high positive rate of 49.4% (210/425). Eight spotted fever group rickettsiae and one Anaplasma species were identified and characterized, including Rickettsia raoultii (102, 24.0%), R. aeschlimannii (65, 15.3%), R. sibirica (12, 2.8%), R. slovaca (4, 0.9%), R. heilongjiangensis (1, 0.2%), Cadidatus Rickettsia hongyuanensis (4, 0.9%), Ca. R. jingxinensis (11, 2.6%), Ca. R. vulgarisii (11, 2.6%) and Anaplasma ovis (98, 23.1%). The positive rate of bacterial species ranged from 0.2% to 24.0%. Interestingly, one novel Rickettsia species, provisionally named "Candidatus Rickettsia vulgarisii", was detected in Argas ticks from Zhongwei city, which suggests the possibility of local transmission to other areas through birds. Genetic and phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA, gltA, ompA, and 17kDa genes indicated that it was divergent from all known SFG Rickettsia species but mostly related to R. vini. Different SFGR species were associated with specific tick species or genera. In addition, Anaplasma ovis was detected in two Dermacentor species, and co-infection with SFGRs was observed in 14.6% (62/425) of samples.

Conclusions: This study describes the prevalence and diversity of SFGRs in ticks from Ningxia for the first time by direct detection, reveals that Rickettsia diversity related to tick species. This data suggests that surveillance for tick-borne SFGR infections among human populations should be enhanced in this region, and further investigations on their pathogenicity to humans and domestic animals are still needed.

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首次在宁夏蜱中直接检测到斑点热群立克次体的多样性。

背景：由斑点热群立克次体（SFGR）引起的蜱传传染病不断出现，有许多以前未识别的SFGR物种被报道。sfgr在中国西北地区的流行情况尚不清楚。本研究旨在通过对宁夏地区蜱类样本的分析，了解sfgr和无原体的流行情况。方法：2022-2023年在宁夏采集蜱虫，采用PCR扩增靶基因（16S rRNA、gltA、ompA和groEL）进行筛选。扩增子经Sanger测序证实。利用单基因序列和串联序列推断立克次体物种的系统发育关系。结果：在宁夏地区采集的425份蜱虫DNA样本中，有210份呈sfgr阳性，阳性率较高，为49.4%（210/425）。共鉴定出8种斑点热类群立克次体和1种无形体，分别为：拉乌尔氏立克次体（102,24.0%）、埃斯克里曼恙虫（65,15.3%）、西伯利亚恙虫（12,2.8%）、slovaca恙虫（4,0.9%）、黑龙江恙虫（1,0.2%）、红原恙虫（4,0.9%）、京新恙虫（11,2.6%）、寻常恙虫（11,2.6%）和山羊无形体（98,23.1%）。细菌种类阳性率为0.2% ~ 24.0%。有趣的是，在中卫市阿格斯蜱中检出一种新型立克次体，暂命名为“普通候选立克次体”，提示有可能通过当地鸟类传播到其他地区。基于16S rRNA、gltA、ompA和17kDa基因的遗传和系统发育分析表明，该菌株与所有已知的SFG立克次体物种都存在差异，但与R. vini有亲缘关系。不同SFGR种与特定蜱种或属有关联。另外，在2种革螨中检出卵巢无原体，14.6%（62/425）的标本中检出sfgr共感染。结论：本研究首次通过直接检测方法描述了宁夏蜱中立克次体的流行程度和多样性，揭示了立克次体多样性与蜱种之间的关系。这些数据表明，该地区应加强对蜱传SFGR人群感染的监测，并需进一步调查其对人类和家畜的致病性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases PARASITOLOGY-TROPICAL MEDICINE

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723

期刊介绍： PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases publishes research devoted to the pathology, epidemiology, prevention, treatment and control of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), as well as relevant public policy. The NTDs are defined as a group of poverty-promoting chronic infectious diseases, which primarily occur in rural areas and poor urban areas of low-income and middle-income countries. Their impact on child health and development, pregnancy, and worker productivity, as well as their stigmatizing features limit economic stability. All aspects of these diseases are considered, including: Pathogenesis Clinical features Pharmacology and treatment Diagnosis Epidemiology Vector biology Vaccinology and prevention Demographic, ecological and social determinants Public health and policy aspects (including cost-effectiveness analyses).