Banović Pavle, Díaz-Sánchez Adrian Alberto, Foucault-Simonin Angélique, Mateos-Hernandez Lourdes, Wu-Chuang Alejandra, Galon Clemence, Simin Verica, Mijatović Dragana, Bogdan Ivana, Corona-González Belkis, Báez Liani Coronado, Kulisz Joanna, Woźniak Aneta, Zając Zbigniew, Obregón Dasiel, Moutailler Sara, Cabezas-Cruz Alejandro
Ambulance for Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Diseases, Department of Prevention of Rabies and Other Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute Novi Sad, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia; Department of Microbiology with Parasitology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia.
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada.
Infect Genet Evol. 2023 Jan;107:105400. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105400. Epub 2022 Dec 28.
The impact of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) on human health has increased in the last decades, since the incidence of emerging and re-emerging infectious and zoonotic tick-borne diseases has increased worldwide. Tick-borne rickettsiae of the Spotted Fever group (SFGR) are considered as emerging pathogens that can infect humans and cause a variety of non-specific clinical symptoms. Here, we report nine cases of atypical tick-borne diseases (9/460; 1.95%) that occurred over a period of four months (from 15 April 2021 to 16 August 2021) in Serbia, from which five cases were classified as confirmed SFGR infection, two cases as probable SFGR infection and two cases as suspected SFGR infection. Within cases of confirmed SFGR infection, R. helvetica was detected as the causative agent in two cases. The most common clinical finding was non-expanding persistent circular redness, followed by eschar and enlargement of regional lymph nodes, and pain at lesion site. Rickettsia outer membrane protein B (ompB) and citrate synthase (gltA) gene fragments were amplified from clinical samples and ticks attached to patients and IgG reacting with Rickettsia conorii antigen were detected in sera samples of patients, which are highly suggestive of exposure to SFGR. Surveillance and monitoring of rickettsial diseases in Serbia should continue and extended to new areas due to the increasing trend of clinical infections caused by SFGR in the country.
在过去几十年中，蜱传病原体（TBPs）对人类健康的影响有所增加，因为全球范围内新出现和再次出现的蜱传传染病及人畜共患病的发病率都有所上升。斑点热群（SFGR）的蜱传立克次体被认为是新兴病原体，可感染人类并导致各种非特异性临床症状。在此，我们报告了塞尔维亚在四个月期间（从2021年4月15日至2021年8月16日）发生的9例非典型蜱传疾病（9/460；1.95%），其中5例被归类为确诊的SFGR感染，2例为可能的SFGR感染，2例为疑似SFGR感染。在确诊的SFGR感染病例中，两例检测到瑞士立克次体为病原体。最常见的临床发现是非扩展性持续性圆形红斑，其次是焦痂、局部淋巴结肿大以及病变部位疼痛。从临床样本和附着在患者身上的蜱中扩增出立克次体外膜蛋白B（ompB）和柠檬酸合酶（gltA）基因片段，并在患者血清样本中检测到与康氏立克次体抗原反应的IgG，这强烈提示接触了SFGR。由于塞尔维亚由SFGR引起的临床感染呈上升趋势，应继续对该国的立克次体病进行监测并扩展到新的地区。
