The importance of the tortoise tick Hyalomma aegyptium as a carrier of bacterial agents on a wide range

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62157124%3A16270%2F25%3A43882535" target="_blank" >RIV/62157124:16270/25:43882535 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216224:14310/25:00143424 RIV/61989592:15310/25:73634958 RIV/62157124:16810/25:43882535

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X25000202/pdfft?md5=bd35875d2f2aad6eeabe5f43c1691804&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X25000202-main.pdf" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X25000202/pdfft?md5=bd35875d2f2aad6eeabe5f43c1691804&pid=1-s2.0-S1877959X25000202-main.pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102456" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102456</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

The importance of the tortoise tick Hyalomma aegyptium as a carrier of bacterial agents on a wide range

Original language description

Ticks are important vectors of various microorganisms, including bacteria. In this study, we examined Hyalomma aegyptium ticks collected from 240 spur-thighed tortoises Testudo graeca at 42 localities in the Mediterranean and Middle East and analysed them for the presence of bacteria of the genera Anaplasma, Borrelia, Coxiella, and Rickettsia. Altogether, 576 out of 928 analysed ticks (62.1%) were positive for at least one of the tested bacteria. The highest prevalence in individual ticks was found for Borrelia turcica (43.6%), followed by Rickettsia (12.3%) and Anaplasma (6.1%). No sample was positive for Coxiella burnetii. Among Rickettsia, we detected two species, Rickettsia africae and Rickettsia aeschlimannii, and also other unspecified Rickettsia. Anaplasma (100% identity with A. phagocytophilum) was detected at 15 (35%) out of 42 studied localities, any of Rickettsia at 28 (67%), and B. turcica at 32 (76%) localities. The geographic distribution of the studied microorganisms varied, with none of them detected in Syria, and only Rickettsia spp. detected in Morocco. Sequence analysis revealed substantial genetic variability in all detected agents, with the most variable (36 new haplotypes) being glpQ gene used as a marker for B. turcica. We also analysed the prevalence of various co-infections among studied ticks, with the mean number of co-infected ticks per tortoise increased with the number of ticks per tortoise. However, the frequencies of co-infected ticks do not indicate the presence of antagonistic or synergistic facilitative interactions between the agents. According to our data, we could expect that the eco-epidemiological importance of H. aegyptium does not stem from their tortoise hosts but rather from the low host specificity of its larvae and nymphs, feeding on a wider spectrum of reptilian, avian, and mammalian hosts.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10613 - Zoology

Project

<a href="/en/project/LUC23151" target="_blank" >LUC23151: Ticks and tick-borne pathogens: new risks in the context of ongoing environmental changes</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases

ISSN

1877-959X

e-ISSN

1877-9603

Volume of the periodical

16

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2

Country of publishing house

DE - GERMANY

Number of pages

9

Pages from-to

nestránkováno

UT code for WoS article

001431423900001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

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