Smit Andeliza, Mulandane Fernando C, Wójcik Stephané H, Malabwa Choolwe, Sili Gourgelia, Mandara Stephen, Vineer Hannah Rose, Dlamkile Zinathi, Stoltsz Wilhelm H, Morar-Leather Darshana, Makepeace Benjamin L, Neves Luis
Ticks Research Group, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
Biotechnology Centre, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo 1102, Mozambique.
Microorganisms. 2024 Aug 13;12(8):1663. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12081663.
Tick-borne rickettsioses are considered among the oldest known vector-borne zoonotic diseases. Among the rickettsiae, is the most reported and important in Africa, as it is the aetiological agent of African tick bite fever (ATBF). Studies describing the prevalence of . in southern Africa are fragmented, as they are limited to small geographical areas and focused on and as vectors. spp. ticks were collected in Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe during the sampling period from March 2020 to September 2022. was detected using the gene, while characterisation was conducted using , , and genes. In total, 7734 spp. ticks were collected and were morphologically and molecularly identified as , . , and . . Low levels of variability were observed in the phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated genes. The prevalence of . ranged from 11.7% in South Africa to 35.7% in Zambia. This is one of the largest studies on . prevalence in southern Africa and highlights the need for the inclusion of ATBF as a differential diagnosis when inhabitants and travellers present with flu-like symptoms in the documented countries.
蜱传立克次体病被认为是已知最古老的媒介传播人畜共患病之一。在立克次体中， 在非洲是报告最多且最重要的，因为它是非洲蜱咬热（ATBF）的病原体。描述 在南部非洲流行情况的研究很零散，因为它们仅限于小地理区域，并且以 和 作为媒介。在2020年3月至2022年9月的采样期间，在安哥拉、莫桑比克、南非、赞比亚和津巴布韦采集了 属蜱虫。使用 基因检测 ，同时使用 、、 和 基因进行特征分析。总共采集了7734只 属蜱虫，并在形态学和分子学上鉴定为 、、 和 。在 串联基因的系统发育分析中观察到低水平的变异性。 的流行率从南非的11.7%到赞比亚的35.7%不等。这是关于 在南部非洲流行情况的最大规模研究之一，并强调在记录在案的国家中，当居民和旅行者出现流感样症状时，需要将非洲蜱咬热纳入鉴别诊断。
