Human Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Infecting Yaks (Bos grunniens) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Area

Jian, Yingna; Li, Jixu; Moumouni, Paul Franck Adjou; Zhang, Xueyong; Tumwebaze, Maria Agnes; Wang, Geping; Cai, Qiliang; Li, Xiuping; Wang, Guanghua; Liu, Mingming; Li, Yongchang; Ma, Liang; Xuan, Xuenan

doi:10.3390/pathogens9040249

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In the Russian Far East, Kazakhstan, northern China, and Mongolia, R. sibirica and R. raoultii are widely distributed ( 4 ). In China, 11 SFG Rickettsia species have been detected in tick vectors and animals, some of which have been characterized as human pathogens ( 6 ). In previous reports, SFG Rickettsia was detected in a variety of ticks, including Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis in Yunnan Province and Harbin Province in China ( 5 , 7 , 8 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yaks and Tibetan sheep are indigenous animals on the QTPA, which are the important sources of milk, meat, fur, skins, and dung in the area, contributing to the local economic development and the lives of herdsmen ( 10 ). Although SFG rickettsioses in livestock have been reported in this area, the information on these pathogens are limited ( 6 , 11 ). H. qinghaiensis is a common and endemic three-host tick on the QTPA, which is easy to parasitize on Tibetan sheep, yaks, sheep, goats, and other domestic animals to transmit a variety of diseases ( 9 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Infecting Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), Yak (Bos grunniens), and Tibetan Sheep (Ovis aries) in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Area, China

Sun

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Area (QTPA) has a complex natural ecosystem, causing a greatly increased risk of spreading various tick-borne diseases including rickettsial infections, which are regarded as one of the oldest known vector-borne zoonoses. However, the information of one of its pathogen, spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFG Rickettsia), is limited in tick vectors and animals in this area. Therefore, this study focused on the investigation of SFG Rickettsia in tick vectors, yaks (Bos grunniens), and Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) in the QTPA. A total of 1,000 samples were collected from nine sampling sites, including 425 of yaks, 309 of Tibetan sheep, 266 of ticks. By morphological examination, PCR, and sequencing, we confirmed the species of all collected ticks. All tick samples, all yak and Tibetan sheep blood samples were detected based on SFG Rickettsia ompA and sca4 gene. The results showed that all tick samples were identified to be Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis, and the positive rates of SFG Rickettsia were 5.9% (25/425), 0.3% (1/309), and 54.1% (144/266) in yaks, Tibetan sheep, and ticks, respectively. All positive samples were sequenced, and BLASTn analysis of the ompA gene sequences of SFG Rickettsia showed that all positive samples from animals and ticks had 99.04–100% identity with yak and horse isolates from Qinghai Province, China. BLASTn analysis of the sca4 gene sequences of SFG Rickettsia showed that all positive samples had 97.60–98.72% identity with tick isolates from Ukraine. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis showed that all the SFG Rickettsia ompA and sca4 sequences obtained from this study belong to the same clade as Rickettsia raoultii isolated from livestock and ticks from China and other countries. Molecularly, this study detected and characterized SFG Rickettsia both in the tick vectors and animals, suggesting that the relationship between SFG Rickettsia, tick species and animal hosts should be explored to understand their interrelationships, which provide a theoretical basis for preventing control of this pathogen.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Infecting Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), Yak (Bos grunniens), and Tibetan Sheep (Ovis aries) in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Area, China

Sun

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…Two main groups of Rickettsia have been described on the basis of genetic differences and pathology, spotted fever group (SFG) and typhus group (TG). In China, 5 members of SFG have been identified in human cases ( 1 – 4 ), and 7 kinds of Rickettsia have been detected from ticks or animals in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, including R. heilongjiangensis, R. raoultii, R. slovaca, and R. sibirica , which are known to be pathogenic to humans ( 5 – 7 ). However, clinical cases have not been reported.…”

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confidence: 99%

Severe Case of Rickettsiosis Identified by Metagenomic Sequencing, China

Teng¹,

Shi²,

Yao³

et al. 2021

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

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Epidemiological Investigation of Tick-Borne Bacterial Pathogens in Domestic Animals from the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Area, China

Ma,

Jian,

Wang

et al. 2024

Pathogens

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The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau area (QTPA) features a unique environment that has witnessed the selective breeding of diverse breeds of domestic livestock exhibiting remarkable adaptability. Nevertheless, Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella spp., and Borrelia spp. represent tick-borne bacterial pathogens that pose a global threat and have substantial impacts on both human and animal health, as well as on the economy of animal husbandry within the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau area. In this study, a total of 428 samples were systematically collected from 20 distinct areas within the Qinghai Plateau. The samples included 62 ticks and 366 blood samples obtained from diverse animal species to detect the presence of Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella spp., and Borrelia spp. The prevalence of infection in this study was determined as follows: Anaplasma bovis accounted for 16.4% (70/428), A. capra for 4.7% (20/428), A. ovis for 5.8% (25/428), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato for 6.3% (27/428), Coxiella burnetii for 0.7% (3/428), and Rickettsia spp. for 0.5% (2/428). Notably, no cases of A. marginale and A. phagocytophilum infections were observed in this study. The findings revealed an elevated presence of these pathogens in Tibetan sheep and goats, with no infections detected in yaks, Bactrian camels, donkeys, and horses. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first investigation of tick-borne bacterial pathogens infecting goats, cattle, horses, and donkeys within the Qinghai Plateau of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau area. Consequently, our findings contribute valuable insights into the distribution and genetic diversity of Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella spp., and Borrelia spp. within China.

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Human Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Infecting Yaks (Bos grunniens) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Area

Cited by 3 publications

References 34 publications

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Infecting Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), Yak (Bos grunniens), and Tibetan Sheep (Ovis aries) in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Area, China

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Infecting Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), Yak (Bos grunniens), and Tibetan Sheep (Ovis aries) in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Area, China

Severe Case of Rickettsiosis Identified by Metagenomic Sequencing, China

Epidemiological Investigation of Tick-Borne Bacterial Pathogens in Domestic Animals from the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Area, China

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