Skin infectome of patients with a tick bite history

Abstract

Advances in sequencing technologies have revealed that the diversity of tick microbiome and virome goes far beyond our previous understanding. This report not only identifies three new potential pathogens in humans but also shows that the skin barrier is vital in preventing horizontal transmissions of tick-associated bacteria or virus communities to the host. It is the first research on patients' skin infectome after a tick bite and demonstrates that more attention should be paid to the cutaneous response to prevent tick-borne illness.