High Prevalence of Rickettsia raoultii Found in Dermacentor Ticks Collected in Barnaul, Altai Krai, Western Siberia

Alexey V Rakov; Tatiana A Chekanova; Ketevan Petremgvdlishvili; Andrey V Timonin; Anna V Valdokhina; Sergey V Shirokostup; Natalia V Lukyanenko; Vasiliy G Akimkin

doi:10.3390/pathogens12070914

High Prevalence of Rickettsia raoultii Found in Dermacentor Ticks Collected in Barnaul, Altai Krai, Western Siberia

Pathogens. 2023 Jul 6;12(7):914. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12070914.

Authors

Alexey V Rakov¹, Tatiana A Chekanova¹, Ketevan Petremgvdlishvili¹, Andrey V Timonin², Anna V Valdokhina³, Sergey V Shirokostup⁴, Natalia V Lukyanenko², Vasiliy G Akimkin⁵

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Natural Focal Infections Epidemiology, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 111123 Moscow, Russia.
² Department of Epidemiology, Microbiology and Immunology, Altai State Medical University, 656038 Barnaul, Russia.
³ Scientific Group of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 111123 Moscow, Russia.
⁴ Institute of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Altai State Medical University, 656038 Barnaul, Russia.
⁵ Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 111123 Moscow, Russia.

Abstract

The prevalence of the tick-borne spotted fever group rickettsioses pathogens in ticks collected in Barnaul, the administrative center of Altai Krai, Western Siberia, was studied. The causative agent of tick-borne lymphadenopathy (TIBOLA) Rickettsia raoultii was revealed to be present in 61.9% of the samples from Dermacentor ticks. Moreover, Rickettsia helvetica has been identified in 5.1% of Ixodes ticks.

Keywords: Russia; phylogenetic analysis; spotted fever group Rickettsia; ticks.

Grants and funding

АААA-А21-121011890133-8/Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing