A Molecular Survey of Tick-Borne Pathogens from Ticks Collected in Central Queensland, Australia

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Chalada, Melissa Judith;Stenos, John;Vincent, Gemma;Barker, Dayana;Bradbury, Richard Stewart
Abstract

Central Queensland (CQ) is a large and isolated, low population density, remote tropical region of Australia with a varied environment. The region has a diverse fauna and several species of ticks that feed upon that fauna. This study examined 518 individual ticks: 177 Rhipicephalus sanguineus (brown dog tick), 123 Haemaphysalis bancrofti (wallaby tick), 102 Rhipicephalus australis (Australian cattle tick), 47 Amblyomma triguttatum (ornate kangaroo tick), 57 Ixodes holocyclus (paralysis tick), 9 Bothriocroton tachyglossi (CQ short-beaked echidna tick), and 3 Ornithodoros capensis (seabird soft tick). Tick midguts were pooled by common host or environment and screened for four genera of tick-borne zoonoses by PCR and sequencing. The study examined a total of 157 midgut pools of which 3 contained DNA of Coxiella burnetii, 13 Rickettsia gravesii, 1 Rickettsia felis, and 4 other Rickettsia spp. No Borrelia spp. or Babesia spp. DNA were recovered.

Journal

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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18

ISBN/ISSN

1557-7759

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Issue

3

Pages Count

13

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Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert

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DOI

10.1089/vbz.2017.2182