The first detection of relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes ricinus ticks from the northeast Czech Republic

Dominika Bubanová; Alena Myslivcová Fučíková; Igor Majláth; Petr Pajer; Karolína Bjelková; Viktória Majláthová

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.102042

The first detection of relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes ricinus ticks from the northeast Czech Republic

Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2022 Nov;13(6):102042. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.102042. Epub 2022 Sep 13.

Authors

Dominika Bubanová¹, Alena Myslivcová Fučíková², Igor Majláth³, Petr Pajer⁴, Karolína Bjelková², Viktória Majláthová¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biology and Ecology, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, Košice 041 80, Slovak Republic.
² Department of Biology, University of Hradec Králové, Hradecká 1285, Hradec Králové 500 03, Czech Republic.
³ Institute of Biology and Ecology, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Šrobárova 2, Košice 041 80, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: igor.majlath@upjs.sk.
⁴ Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, Prague 142 20, Czech Republic.

PMID: 36126494
DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.102042

Abstract

Borrelia miyamotoi, a relapsing fever spirochete, is considered a human pathogen. Knowledge of this borrelia is currently limited. Data about its potential impact on public health, circulation in nature, or its occurrence in natural environments are insufficient. For our study, a total of 505 questing Ixodes ricinus ticks (337 nymphs, 85 females and 83 males) from Hradec Králové Region in the Czech Republic were collected. Additionally, 160 winged Lipoptena deer keds from Hradec Králové Region, from Pardubice Region, Czech Republic, and from one location in western Slovakia were collected. The presence of B. miyamotoi in ticks and deer keds was determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting a gene encoding glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (glpQ), antigenic protein specific to the relapsing fever spirochetes. Borrelia miyamotoi was identified in six nymphs and four females of I. ricinus ticks. The overall prevalence was 2%. None of the examined Lipoptena specimens were found to be infected. Although no human case of infection with B. miyamotoi has been reported in the Czech Republic yet, this spirochete is widespread in ticks, and therefore the risk of human infection exists.

Keywords: Borrelia miyamotoi; Ixodes ricinus; Lipoptena cervi; Lipoptena fortisetosa; Vector-borne disease, Czech Republic.