Detection of Tick-Borne Pathogens in the Korean Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus) from Jeonbuk Province, Korea.
10.3347/kjp.2015.53.5.653
- Author:
Giyong SEONG
1
;
Yu Jung HAN
;
Sung Suck OH
;
Joon Seok CHAE
;
Do Hyeon YU
;
Jinho PARK
;
Bae Keun PARK
;
Jae Gyu YOO
;
Kyoung Seong CHOI
Author Information
1. College of Ecology and Environmental Science, Kyungpook National University, Sangju 37224, Korea. kschoi3@knu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Brief Communication ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
Anaplasma;
Ehrlichia;
Theileria;
tick-borne pathogen;
Korean water deer;
reservoir
- MeSH:
Anaplasma/isolation & purification;
Animals;
Bacterial Infections/epidemiology/microbiology/*veterinary;
Cluster Analysis;
Coinfection/epidemiology/microbiology/veterinary;
DNA, Bacterial/chemistry/genetics;
DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry/genetics;
Ehrlichia/*isolation & purification;
Korea/epidemiology;
Molecular Sequence Data;
Phylogeny;
Prevalence;
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics;
Rickettsia/*isolation & purification;
Ruminants/*microbiology;
Sequence Analysis, DNA;
Theileria/*isolation & purification
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2015;53(5):653-659
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in the Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus). Pathogens were identified using PCR which included Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Theileria. Rickettsia was not detected, whereas Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Theileria infections were detected in 4, 2, and 8 animals, respectively. The most prevalent pathogen was Theileria. Of the 8 Theileria-positive animals, 2 were mixed-infected with 3 pathogens (Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Theileria) and another 2 animals showed mixed-infection with 2 pathogens (Anaplasma and Theileria). Sequencing analysis was used to verify the PCR results. The pathogens found in this study were identified as Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia canis, and Theileria sp. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report identifying these 3 pathogens in the Korean water deer. Our results suggest that the Korean water deer may serve as a major reservoir for these tick-borne pathogens, leading to spread of tick-borne diseases to domestic animals, livestock, and humans. Further studies are needed to investigate their roles in this respect.
