Microbial pathogens in ticks, rodents and a shrew in northern Gyeonggi-do near the DMZ, Korea

Abstract

A total of 1,618 ticks [420 individual (adults) and pooled (larvae and nymphs) samples], 369 rodents (Apodemus agrarius, Rattus norvegicus, Tscherskia triton, Mus musculus, and Myodes regulus), and 34 shrews (Crocidura lasiura) that were collected in northern Gyeonggi-do near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of Korea during 2004-2005, were assayed by PCR for selected zoonotic pathogens. From a total of 420 individual and pooled tick DNA samples, Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum (16), A. platys (16), Ehrlichia (E.) chaffeensis (63), Borrelia burgdorferi (16), and Rickettsia spp. (198) were detected using species-specific PCR assays. Out of 403 spleens from rodents and shrews, A. phagocytophilum (20), A. platys (34), E. chaffeensis (127), and Bartonella spp. (24) were detected with species-specific PCR assays. These results suggest that fevers of unknown causes in humans and animals in Korea should be evaluated for infections by these vector-borne microbial pathogens.

Molecular epidemiology of Anaplasma platys, Ehrlichia canis and Babesia vogeli in stray dogs in Paraná, Brazil

“…It is possible that other tick species act as vectors of A. platys, since molecular tools have detected the DNA of this anaplasmataceae in nymphs and adults of the ixodidea Haemaphysalis longicornis and H. flava, as well as in larvae and nymphs of Ixodes nipponensis (Chae et al 2008). Other arthropods are also thought to be capable of transmitting A. platys.…”

Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis as a Cause of Febrile Illness in Korea Since at Least 2006

“…13,14 In South Korea, A. phagocytophilum and E. chaffeensis have been frequently detected in ticks including Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes nipponensis, and Ixodes persulcatus and in wild animals such as striped field mice, weasels, and Korean water deer (KWD). [15][16][17][18][19] However, in South Korea, only one suspected HME case was serologically diagnosed in a U.S. Forces Korea soldier in 2000, 20 and only one microbiologically confirmed HGA case with clinical description has been reported in 2014.…”

BartonellaInfection in Rodents and Their Flea Ectoparasites: An Overview

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