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. 2019 Feb 28;5(2):e01270.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01270. eCollection 2019 Feb.

Detection of pathogens in Dermacentor reticulatus in northwestern Europe: evaluation of a high-throughput array

Hein Sprong  1 , Manoj Fonville  1 , Arieke Docters van Leeuwen  1 , Elodie Devillers  2 , Adolfo Ibañez-Justicia  3 , Arjan Stroo  3 , Kayleigh Hansford  4   5 , Benjamin Cull  4   5 , Jolyon Medlock  4   5 , Paul Heyman  6 , Christel Cochez  6 , Lisa Weis  7 , Cornelia Silaghi  7 , Sara Moutailler  2
Affiliations

Detection of pathogens in Dermacentor reticulatus in northwestern Europe: evaluation of a high-throughput array

Hein Sprong et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: The geographic distribution of Dermacentor reticulatus is expanding in Europe. Surveillance of this tick species and its pathogens is desirable, as it transmits pathogens of public and veterinary importance. A high-throughput real-time PCR-based array was used to screen 1.741 D. reticulatus ticks from Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, and Great Britain for the presence of 28 tick-borne bacteria and twelve protozoan parasites. The presence of pathogen DNA was confirmed by conventional PCR followed by sequencing.

Results: The array detected the presence of DNA from Borrelia spp. (7%), B. afzelii (0.1%), B. garinii (0.1%), B. spielmanii (0.1%), B. miyamotoi (0.2%), Anaplasma marginale (0.1%), A. phagocytophilum (0.1%), Ehrlichia canis (2%), Rickettsia helvetica (0.2%), spotted fever group Rickettsia (9.6%), Francisella tularensis or Francisella-like endosymbionts (95%), Coxiella burnettii (0.1%), Babesia divergens (0.2%), B. canis (0.9%) B. vogeli (5.6%), and Theileria equi (0.1%). Only the presence of B. canis and spotted fever group Rickettsia could be confirmed by conventional PCR and sequencing. The spotted fever Rickettsia-positive samples were all identified as R. raoultii.

Conclusions: We successfully detected and determined the prevalence of B. canis and R. raoultii in D. reticulatus. An high-throughput array that allows fast and comprehensive testing of tick-borne pathogens is advantageous for surveillance and future epidemiological studies. The importance of thorough validation of real-time PCR-based assays and careful interpretation is evident.

Keywords: Microbiology; Molecular biology.

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