title: Prevalence of Anaplasma, Bartonella and Borrelia Species in Haemaphysalis longicornis collected from goats in North Korea.
abstract: North Korea is located on the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. While tick-borne pathogens of medical and veterinary importance have been reported from China and South Korea, they have not been reported from North Korea. To screen for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens in North Korea, ticks were collected from domestic goats. A total of 292 (27 nymph, 26 male, 239 female) Haemaphysalis (H.) longicornis were collected and assayed individually for selected tick-borne pathogens. A total of 77 (26.4%) were positive for Anaplasma bovis, followed by Bartonella (B.) grahamii (15, 5.1%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (12, 4.1%), Bartonella henselae (10, 3.4%), and Borrelia spp. (3, 1.0%) based on 16S ribosomal RNA and ITS species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction. Using the groEL-based nested PCR, a total of 6 and 1 H. longicornis were positive for B. grahamii and B. henselae, respectively. All products were sequenced and demonstrated 100% identity and homology with previously reported sequences from other countries in GenBank. This is the first report of the detection of tick-borne pathogens in the North Korea and suggests that farm animals may act as reservoirs for zoonotic tick-borne pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Gu
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Sungjin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
authors.forename: W Barney
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Heung-Chul
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medical Biology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Yong
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Joon-Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chae
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001898:Borrelia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D056911:Democratic People's Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006041:Goats; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Anaplasma; Bartonella; Borrelia; Haemaphysalis longicornis; North Korea