Molecular Identification of Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes ricinus from Portugal.
Borrelia miyamotoi, a relapsing fever spirochete, has been found recently in Ixodes ricinus ticks; however, little is known about its spatial distribution and potential local impact on human health. A total of 640 ticks (447 nymphs and 193 adults) collected throughout Portugal were analyzed using two nested PCR protocols, one targeting the flagellin gene and the other the internal transcribed space region between the 5S and the 23S rRNA. As a result, B. miyamotoi was detected, for the first time, in one guesting I. ricinus nymph collected in the Lisboa district. In addition, a prevalence of 11% (71/640) for B. burgdorferi sensu lato was obtained. Even though no human relapsing fever cases due to infection by B. miyamotoi have been reported yet in Portugal, surveillance must be improved to provide better insight into the prevalence and distribution of this spirochete in ticks.
1 Grupo de Leptospirose e Borreliose de Lyme, Unidade de Microbiologia Médica, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) , Lisbon, Portugal .|2 Global Health and Tropical Medicine , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .
Mónica
M
Nunes
2 Global Health and Tropical Medicine , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .|3 Grupo de Virologia, Unidade de Microbiologia Médica , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .
Ricardo
R
Parreira
1 Grupo de Leptospirose e Borreliose de Lyme, Unidade de Microbiologia Médica, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) , Lisbon, Portugal .
Nádia
N
Lopes
2 Global Health and Tropical Medicine , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .|4 Grupo de Leishmanioses, Unidade de Parasitologia Médica , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .
Carla
C
Maia
1 Grupo de Leptospirose e Borreliose de Lyme, Unidade de Microbiologia Médica, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) , Lisbon, Portugal .|2 Global Health and Tropical Medicine , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .
Teresa
T
Carreira
1 Grupo de Leptospirose e Borreliose de Lyme, Unidade de Microbiologia Médica, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) , Lisbon, Portugal .
Carmelita
C
Sousa
1 Grupo de Leptospirose e Borreliose de Lyme, Unidade de Microbiologia Médica, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) , Lisbon, Portugal .
Sofia
S
Faria
2 Global Health and Tropical Medicine , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .|4 Grupo de Leishmanioses, Unidade de Parasitologia Médica , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .
Lenea
L
Campino
1 Grupo de Leptospirose e Borreliose de Lyme, Unidade de Microbiologia Médica, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) , Lisbon, Portugal .|2 Global Health and Tropical Medicine , IHMT-UNL, Lisbon, Portugal .
M Luísa
ML
Vieira
D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001898:Borrelia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005408:Flagellin / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009758:Nymph; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D012061:Relapsing Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005408:Flagellin
Borrelia miyamotoi; Flagellin gene; Ixodes ricinus; Portugal