Molecular detection of a relapsing fever Borrelia in Dermacentor auratus infesting a human, with a brief review of human otoacariasis cases in Malaysia.

Abstract

This study reports the detection of a relapsing fever Borrelia in the gilded boar tick, Dermacentor auratus, extracted from the ear canal of a human patient in Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. Molecular analysis of the flaB gene identified the Borrelia species as identical to Borrelia sp. isolate HNF1F2 from China (ON060668) and closely related (99.60%) to Borrelia theileri isolate B22 from Colombia (ON135433). This article also provides a comprehensive review of human otoacariasis cases in Malaysia and discusses the limitations associated with these cases.