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Molecular detection of Rickettsia species in Laelaps mites in North India
Manisha Biswal1, Taruna Kaura2, Shriya Goel1
1Department of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Sector 12, Chandigarh 160012, India.
Background:
Human rickettsial infections are not uncommon in India. However, there is little known about the carriage of these organisms in arthropod vectors in the country. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of Rickettsia in ectoparasites of rodents in North India.
Methods:
Rodent trapping was conducted in Chandigarh and Punjab in North India. Ectoparasites collected from rodents were identified using morphological and molecular techniques. The presence of Rickettsia spp. in ectoparasites was investigated using polymerase chain reaction targeting gltA and 17-kDa genes. Positive amplicons were sequenced using Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was conducted using MegaX.
Results:
Of 127 collected ectoparasites from trapped rodents, 16 ticks (34%), 2 pools of fleas (12.5%) and 1 pool of mites (25%) were found to be harbouring Rickettsia spp. The Rickettsia spp. present were found to be closely related to Rickettsia rhipicephali and Rickettsia massiliae.
Conclusions:
We report presence of Rickettsia spp. in mites, fleas and ticks in North India. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular evidence of the presence of Rickettsia spp. in Laelaps mites from India. The role of haematophagous Laelaps mites in transmission of pathogenic rickettsial species in the region needs to be investigated.
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