Prevalence and diversity of Borrelia species in ticks that have bitten humans in SwedenShow others and affiliations
2010 (English)In: Journal of Clinical Microbiology, ISSN 0095-1137, E-ISSN 1098-660X, Vol. 48, no 11, p. 4169-4176Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Members of the genus Borrelia are among the most common infectious agents causing tick-borne disease in humans worldwide. Here, we developed a Light Upon eXtension (LUX) real-time PCR assay that can detect and quantify Borrelia species in ticks that have fed on humans, and we applied the assay to 399 such ticks. Borrelia PCR-positive ticks were identified to species level by sequencing the products of conventional PCR performed using Borrelia group-specific primers. There was a 19% prevalence of Borrelia spp. in the detached ticks, and the number of spirochetes per Borrelia PCR-positive tick ranged from 2.0 × 10(2) to 4.9 × 10(5), with a median of 7.8 × 10(3) spirochetes. Adult ticks had a significantly larger number of spirochetes, with a median of 8.4 × 10(3) compared to the median of nymphs of 4.4 × 10(3). [corrected] Adult ticks also exhibited a higher prevalence of Borrelia (33%) than nymphs (14%). Among the identified species, Borrelia afzelii was found to predominate (61%) and was followed by B. garinii (23%), B. valaisiana (13%), B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (1%), B. lusitaniae (1%), and B. miyamotoi-like (1%). Also, 3% of the ticks were coinfected with multiple strains of B. afzelii. Notably, this is the first report of B. lusitaniae being detected in ticks in Sweden. Our LUX real-time PCR assay proved to be more sensitive than a corresponding TaqMan assay. In conclusion, the novel LUX real-time PCR method is a rapid and sensitive tool for detection and quantification of Borrelia spp. in ticks.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Society for Microbiology, 2010. Vol. 48, no 11, p. 4169-4176
National Category
Infectious Medicine Microbiology in the medical area
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-107561DOI: 10.1128/JCM.01061-10ISI: 000283588500049PubMedID: 20844223Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-78049509333OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-107561DiVA, id: diva2:1788501
Funder
Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden (FORSS)
Note
This study was supported by the Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden and by ALF funds.
2023-08-162023-08-162023-12-29Bibliographically approved