Detection of tick-borne bacterial DNA (Rickettsia sp.) in reptile ticks Amblyomma moreliae from New South Wales, Australia.

ABSTRACT: Ticks are major arthropod vectors of disease, transmitting tick-borne pathogens during blood meal episodes. Rickettsia spp. and Borrelia spp. are two tick-borne pathogens of zoonotic concern previously identified in DNA isolates from the tick genera Amblyomma and Bothriocroton associated with reptilian hosts in Australia. Some reports suggest that these reptile ticks bite and attach to humans via accidental parasitism and transmit disease, with the tick Bothriocroton hydrosauri known to transmit Rickettsia honei or Flinders Island Spotted Fever Rickettsia to humans. This descriptive study aims to identify the ticks collected from wild reptiles submitted to veterinary clinics and captured by snake rescuers from New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and detect the presence of tick-borne bacteria

SUBMITTER: Kim MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10776464 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature