High prevalence of Babesia microti in small mammals in Beijing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne zoonotic infectious disease. Babesia microti is responsible for most cases of human babesiosis globally. It is important to investigate the prevalence of B. microti in the mammalian host population of a specific region in order to elucidate mechanisms of pathogen transmission and to define geographic areas where humans face the greatest risk of exposure. The aim of this study is to understand the prevalence and genotypes of B. microti in the small mammals that are found in Beijing, China.

Methods

We trapped small mammals from all of the 16 urban, suburban, and outer suburban districts of Beijing during the years 2014, 2017 and 2018. Genomic DNA was extracted from the heart tissues individually and the Babesia 18S rRNA gene was

SUBMITTER: Wei CY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7661193 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature