Parasitic and Honeybee Disease Laboratory, Bacterial Disease Division, Department of Animal and Plant Health Research, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk, 39660, Republic of Korea.
Faculty of Biotechnology, Thai Nguyen University of Sciences, Thai Nguyen, 250000, Vietnam.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 25;12(1):12672. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-16785-0.
Migratory birds disperse ticks and associated tick-borne pathogens along their migratory routes. Four selected pathogens of medical importance (Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia spp., Francisella tularensis, and Toxoplasma gondii) were targeted for detection in 804 ticks (365 pools) collected from migratory birds at Hong and Heuksan Islands in the Republic of Korea (ROK) from 2010 to 2011 and 2016. Toxoplasma gondii and Rickettsia spp., were detected in 1/365 (0.27%) and 34/365 (9.32%) pools of ticks, respectively. T. gondii and five rickettsial species were recorded in ticks collected from migratory birds for the first time in ROK. The five rickettsial species (R. monacensis, Candidatus Rickettsia longicornii, R. japonica, R. raoultii, and R. tamurae) were identified using sequence and phylogenetic analysis using ompA and gltA gene fragments. Rickettsia spp. are important pathogens that cause rickettsiosis in humans, with cases recorded in the ROK. These results provide important evidence for the potential role of migratory birds in the introduction and dispersal of T. gondii and Rickettsia spp. along their migratory routes and raise awareness of potential transmission of zoonotic tick-borne pathogens associated with migratory birds in the ROK.
候鸟在迁徙过程中传播蜱虫和相关蜱传病原体。从 2010 年至 2011 年和 2016 年，在韩国（ROK）的洪和玄山群岛，对 804 只候鸟采集的 365 个蜱虫样本（365 个样本池）进行了检测，以寻找四种具有医学重要性的选定病原体（贝氏柯克斯体、立克次体、土拉弗朗西斯菌和刚地弓形虫）。在 365 个蜱虫样本池中，分别有 1/365（0.27%）和 34/365（9.32%）的样本池中检测到刚地弓形虫和立克次体。在韩国首次记录到从候鸟身上采集到的刚地弓形虫和五种立克次体。使用 ompA 和 gltA 基因片段进行序列和系统发育分析，鉴定出这五种立克次体（莫纳立克次体、长角血蜱候选种、日本立克次体、拉乌尔氏菌和谷川立克次体）。立克次体是引起人类斑疹伤寒的重要病原体，在 ROK 有病例记录。这些结果为候鸟在其迁徙路线上引入和传播刚地弓形虫和立克次体提供了重要证据，并提高了人们对与候鸟相关的、可能在 ROK 传播的动物源性蜱传病原体的潜在传播风险的认识。
