Investigation of Coxiella Burnetii and Ehrlichia Canis by Molecular Methods in Ticks Removed From Patients Admitted To Hospital With Tick Bite Complaints

Abstract

Ticks have to suck blood from their hosts during their developmental stages, except for the egg period. They also transmit the pathogens to their host while feeding. A total of 100 ticks obtained from 42 female and 58 male patients admitted to a hospital were included in the study. After the morphological examination of the ticks, DNA extraction was performed. Conventional PCR for Coxiella burnetii and Nested-PCR for Ehrlichia canis were performed using species-specific primers. In the morphological examination, it was determined that all of the ticks belonged to the Ixodidae family and 95 (95%) were Rhipicephalus sanguineus and 5 (5%) were Ixodes ricinus species. C. burnetii was detected in 36 ticks and E. canis was found in 26 ticks out of 100 ticks included in the study. It was determined that 33 (91.67%) of the C. burnetii infected ticks were R. sanguineus and 3 (8.33%) were I. ricinus. It was also determined that 25 (96.15%) of the E. canis infected ticks were R. sanguineus and one (3.85%) was the I. ricinus. When the incidence of C. burnetii and E. canis was examined according to the place of residence of the patients, it was found that C. burnetii was seen at a higher rate in people living in rural areas and as a result of the statistical analysis, it was found that the difference was statistically significant. In conclusion, ticks pose a significant risk as vectors of C. burnetii and E. canis. © 2021, ABADER (Adıyaman Bilimsel Arastırmalar Dernegi). All rights reserved.