Tick Species Identification and Zoonotic Bacteria Detection from Healthcare-Extracted Specimens from Humans in the Basque Country, Northern Iberian Peninsula
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Tick Collection and Identification
2.2. DNA Extraction
2.3. Molecular Detection and Identification of Tick-Borne Bacteria
3. Results
3.1. Tick Species, Stage and Season
3.2. Pathogen Detection and Identification
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
COI | Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I |
DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid |
gltA | Citrate synthase gene |
HGA | Human granulocytic anaplasmosis |
IGS | Intergenic spacer |
IS1111 | IS1111 gene |
LB | Lyme borreliosis |
MSF | Mediterranean spotted fever |
msp2 | Merozoite surface protein 2 |
ompA | Outer membrane protein A gene |
PCR | Polymerase chain reaction |
RLB | Reverse line blot |
s.l. | sensu lato |
s.s. | sensu stricto |
SFG | Spotted fever group |
TBD | Tick-borne disease |
TBP | Tick-borne pathogen |
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Analysed Samples | A. phagocytophilum | Coxiella spp. | Borrelia spp. | Rickettsia spp. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tick species/stage | |||||
I. ricinus | 137 | 4 (2.9) | 3 (2.2) | 9 (6.6) | 4 (2.9) |
Female | 29 | 1 (3.4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nymph | 104 * | 3 (2.9) | 3 (2.9) | 9 (8.7) | 4 (3.8) |
Larvae | 4 * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
R. bursa | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (16.7) |
Female | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (33.3) |
Male | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
H. punctata | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 (16.7) | 0 |
Female | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Male | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 (50.0) | 0 |
D. reticulatus | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (40.0) |
Female | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (33.3) |
Male | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (50.0) |
D. marginatus | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (33.3) |
Female | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nymph | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (50.0) |
Season | |||||
Spring | 63 | 2 (3.2) | 2 (3.2) | 5 (7.9) | 5 (7.9) |
Summer | 73 | 2 (2.7) | 1 (1.4) | 3 (4.1) | 2 (2.7) |
Autumn | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 (10.0) | 0 |
Winter | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 (9.1) | 1 (9.1) |
Overall | 157 | 4 (2.5) | 3 (1.9) | 10 (6.4) | 8 (5.1) |
Tick Species-S | No. | RLB | Sanger Sequencing |
---|---|---|---|
I. ricinus-N | 1 | B. afzelii | - |
I. ricinus-N | 1 | B. afzelii | - |
I. ricinus-N | 1 | B. afzelii + B. burgdorferi s.s. | - |
I. ricinus-N | 2 | B. afzelii + B. garinii | - |
I. ricinus-N | 1 | B. garinii | - |
I. ricinus-N | 1 | B. valaisiana | - |
I. ricinus-N | 2 | B. valaisiana | - |
I. ricinus-N | 1 | neg | B. miyamotoi |
I. ricinus-N | 1 | neg | B. miyamotoi |
H. punctata-M | 1 | neg | Borrelia sp. |
Tick Species-S | gltA | ompA | Consensus | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pb | AN | Species | Pb | AN | Specie | ||
I. ricinus-N | 309 | MK792589 | R. monacensis | 421 | KY073124 | R. monacensis | R. monacensis |
I. ricinus-N | 311 | OR399958 | R. monacensis | 494 | HM161767 | R. monacensis | R. monacensis |
I. ricinus-N | 311 | MK792589 | R. monacensis | nrs | - | - | R. monacensis |
I. ricinus-N | 312 | MK792578 | R. helvetica | nrs | - | - | R. helvetica |
R. bursa-F | 304 | PP835452 | R. massiliae | 490 | MZ420708 | R. massiliae | R. massiliae |
D. marginatus-N | 296 | AY129300 | Rickettsia sp. | 489 | MW817120 | Ca R. rioja | Ca R. rioja |
D. reticulatus-F | nrs | - | - | 372 | MW817127 | Ca R. rioja | Ca R. rioja |
D. reticulatus-M | nrs | - | - | 423 | MW817127 | Ca R. rioja | Ca R. rioja |
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Ibarrondo-Mendiola, P.; Vázquez, P.; Alkorta, M.; Zugazaga, C.; García-Pérez, A.L.; Barandika, J.F.; Cevidanes, A. Tick Species Identification and Zoonotic Bacteria Detection from Healthcare-Extracted Specimens from Humans in the Basque Country, Northern Iberian Peninsula. Pathogens 2025, 14, 561. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14060561
Ibarrondo-Mendiola P, Vázquez P, Alkorta M, Zugazaga C, García-Pérez AL, Barandika JF, Cevidanes A. Tick Species Identification and Zoonotic Bacteria Detection from Healthcare-Extracted Specimens from Humans in the Basque Country, Northern Iberian Peninsula. Pathogens. 2025; 14(6):561. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14060561
Chicago/Turabian StyleIbarrondo-Mendiola, Patirke, Patricia Vázquez, Miriam Alkorta, Cristina Zugazaga, Ana L. García-Pérez, Jesús F. Barandika, and Aitor Cevidanes. 2025. "Tick Species Identification and Zoonotic Bacteria Detection from Healthcare-Extracted Specimens from Humans in the Basque Country, Northern Iberian Peninsula" Pathogens 14, no. 6: 561. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14060561
APA StyleIbarrondo-Mendiola, P., Vázquez, P., Alkorta, M., Zugazaga, C., García-Pérez, A. L., Barandika, J. F., & Cevidanes, A. (2025). Tick Species Identification and Zoonotic Bacteria Detection from Healthcare-Extracted Specimens from Humans in the Basque Country, Northern Iberian Peninsula. Pathogens, 14(6), 561. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14060561