Detection of Multiple Intracellular Bacterial Pathogens in Haemaphysalis flava Ticks Collected from Hedgehogs in Central China

Abstract

Tickborne intracellular bacterial pathogens including <i>Anaplasma</i>, <i>Coxiella burnetti, Ehrlichia</i>, and <i>Rickettsia</i> cause emerging infectious diseases worldwide. PCR was used to amplify the genes of these pathogens in <i>Haemaphysalis flava</i> ticks collected from hedgehogs in Central China. Among 125 samples including 20 egg batches, 24 engorged females, and 81 molted male and female adult ticks, the DNA sequences and phylogenetic analysis showed that the minimum infection rate of the ticks was 4% (5/125) for <i>A. bovis</i>, 3.2% (4/125) for <i>C. burnetti</i>, 9.6%, (12/125) for <i>E. ewingii</i>, and 5.6% for <i>Rickettsia</i> including <i>R.</i><i>japonica</i> (3.2%, 4/125) and <i>R. raoultii</i> (2.4%, 3/125), respectively. The prevalence of these pathogens was significantly higher in dead engorged females (83.3%, 20/24) than in eggs (5%, 1/20) and molted ticks (8.6%, 7/81). Our study indicated that <i>H. flava</i> ticks could be infected with multiple species of tickborne pathogens including <i>Anaplasma</i>, <i>C. burnetti</i>, <i>Ehrlichia</i>, and <i>Rickettsia</i> in Central China, and the prevalence of these pathogens was reduced during transovarial and transstadial transmission in ticks, suggesting that ticks may not be real reservoirs but only vectors for these tickborne pathogens.