ABSTRACT
Borrelia miyamotoi, a relapsing fever spirochete, is considered a human pathogen. Knowledge of this borrelia is currently limited. Data about its potential impact on public health, circulation in nature, or its occurrence in natural environments are insufficient. For our study, a total of 505 questing Ixodes ricinus ticks (337 nymphs, 85 females and 83 males) from Hradec Králové Region in the Czech Republic were collected. Additionally, 160 winged Lipoptena deer keds from Hradec Králové Region, from Pardubice Region, Czech Republic, and from one location in western Slovakia were collected. The presence of B. miyamotoi in ticks and deer keds was determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting a gene encoding glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (glpQ), antigenic protein specific to the relapsing fever spirochetes. Borrelia miyamotoi was identified in six nymphs and four females of I. ricinus ticks. The overall prevalence was 2%. None of the examined Lipoptena specimens were found to be infected. Although no human case of infection with B. miyamotoi has been reported in the Czech Republic yet, this spirochete is widespread in ticks, and therefore the risk of human infection exists.
ABSTRACT
Borrelia miyamotoi, recurrent fever borrelia, pathogenic to humans, has been found recently in Ixodes ricinus ticks. There is still little information about its circulation in nature and potential local impact on human health as well as the occurrence in natural localities. In our study, a total of 1609 ticks (745 nymphs, 358 females and 506 males) collected from different localities in eastern Slovakia were analysed using a polymerase chain reaction targeting a gene encoding glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (glpQ), which is specific to the Borrelia species in the relapsing fever group. B. miyamotoi was found in 3 nymphs, 6 females and 9 males of quested I. ricinus ticks. Although no human case of infection with B. miyamotoi has been reported in Slovakia yet, its presence needs to be studied to obtain knowledge regarding the prevalence and the distribution of this human pathogen in questing ticks and to increase medical healthcare awareness.
