Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever Borrelia Infecting Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) verrucosus Ticks Collected in Ukraine

Abstract Background Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is a neglected zoonotic bacterial disease known to occur on 5 continents. We report a laboratory-acquired case of TBRF caused by Borrelia caucasica, which is endemic in Ukraine and transmitted by Ornithodoros verrucosus ticks. Methods We isolated...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 2020-02, Vol.221 (5), p.804-811
Main Authors: Filatov, Serhii, Krishnavajhala, Aparna, Armstrong, Brittany A, Kneubehl, Alexander R, Nieto, Nathan C, Pérez De León, Adalberto A, Lopez, Job E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Borrelia
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Differential diagnosis
DNA
Etiology
Flagellin
Nomenclature
Phylogeny
Public health
Relapsing fever
Spirochetes
Tick-borne diseases
Vectors
Zoonoses
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Summary:Abstract Background Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is a neglected zoonotic bacterial disease known to occur on 5 continents. We report a laboratory-acquired case of TBRF caused by Borrelia caucasica, which is endemic in Ukraine and transmitted by Ornithodoros verrucosus ticks. Methods We isolated spirochetes and characterized them by partially sequencing the 16s ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rrs), flagellin (flaB), and deoxyribonucleic acid gyrase (gyrB) genes and conducting a phylogenetic analysis. Results These analyses revealed a close relationship of Ukrainian spirochetes with the Asian TBRF species, Borrelia persica. The taxonomic and nomenclature problems related to insufficient knowledge on the spirochetes and their vectors in the region are discussed. Conclusions Although these findings enhance our understanding of species identities for TBRF Borrelia in Eurasia, further work is required to address the neglected status of TBRF in this part of the world. Public health practitioners should consider TBRF and include the disease into differential diagnosis of febrile illnesses with unknown etiology.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/jiz500