Byun Hye-Ryung, Rieu Mi-Sun, Ji Seong-Ryeong, Nam Hyun-Young, Seo Seulgi, Choi Chang-Yong, Na Ki-Jeong, Kim Jong-Taek, Cho Soyeon, Hwang Bo-Yeon, Chae Joon-Seok
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, BK21 FOUR Future Veterinary Medicine Leading Education and Research Center, Research Institute for Veterinary Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Armed Forces Medical Readiness and Training School, Daejeon 34059, Korea.
J Vet Sci. 2025 Jul;26(4):e46. doi: 10.4142/jvs.24351.
Climate and anthropogenic changes have resulted in the growth of tick populations and tick-borne pathogens worldwide. Standardized surveillance systems are essential for novel tick-borne pathogens in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Analysis of blood-fed ticks suggests that zoonotic pathogens have the potential to circulate between ticks and wild animals in natural environments.
This study aimed to analyze blood-fed ticks from wild animals in the ROK and detect novel tick-borne pathogens in the ROK to develop effective surveillance systems and preventive strategies.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) identified 217 ticks with eight pooled samples collected from five wild mammals and 22 birds in five wildlife rescue centers and three bird banding stations in the ROK from February 2022 to May 2023.
After NGS, clean reads of 17,017,249-32,372,003 viruses, 116,996-289,716 bacteria, and 164,462-352,826 protozoa were obtained in each region. Several pathogens, including those in families such as , cause zoonotic diseases. This study identified 39 species, including 30 viruses, eight bacteria, and one protozoan, in 217 blood-feeding ticks from five wild mammals and 22 wild birds.
This study suggests that tick-borne zoonotic pathogens can circulate in ticks and animals and have potential transmission effects in humans. Hence, wild animals, including mammals and birds, may serve as reservoirs of zoonotic infection carriers.
气候和人为变化导致全球蜱虫数量增长以及蜱传病原体增多。标准化监测系统对于韩国新型蜱传病原体至关重要。对吸食血液的蜱虫进行分析表明，人畜共患病原体有可能在自然环境中的蜱虫和野生动物之间传播。
本研究旨在分析韩国野生动物身上吸食血液的蜱虫，并检测韩国新型蜱传病原体，以制定有效的监测系统和预防策略。
2022年2月至2023年5月，下一代测序（NGS）在韩国五个野生动物救援中心和三个鸟类环志站，从五种野生哺乳动物和22只鸟类身上采集了八个混合样本，鉴定出217只蜱虫。
经NGS检测，每个区域分别获得了17,017,249 - 32,372,003个病毒、116,996 - 289,716个细菌和164,462 - 352,826个原生动物的清洁读数。包括等科的几种病原体可导致人畜共患病。本研究在来自五种野生哺乳动物和22只野生鸟类的217只吸食血液的蜱虫中鉴定出39个物种，包括30种病毒、8种细菌和1种原生动物。
本研究表明，蜱传人畜共患病原体可在蜱虫和动物之间传播，并对人类具有潜在传播影响。因此，包括哺乳动物和鸟类在内的野生动物可能是人畜共患病感染携带者的宿主。
