Investigation of Zoonotic Pathogens in Patients With Tick Attachment in Tekirdag, Turkey

Abstract

Objective: Tick-borne zoonotic infections threaten public health, and preventive measures take an important place for their control. However, there is not enough data about epidemiology of the ticks transmitting the infectious agents in the region. The aim of this study is to provide the current data about seroprevalence of some local zoonotic infections and their vectors in a region at risk. Methods: The present study included 120 patients with tick attachment who were admitted to Emergency Department of corlu State Hospital for 12 months. Serum samples obtained from these patients and 200 tick samples were examined. The presence of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), West Nile virus (WNV), Rickettsia conorii, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi was investigated serologically. In addition, developmental stage, genus and species of ticks was also identified under a stereomicroscope. Results: The patients with a mean age of 27.25 (+/- 20) years, consisted of 78 (65%) males. According to serological test results, all the samples were negative for CCHFV IgM, four (3.3%) samples were positive for CCHFV IgG. Seven (5.8%) samples were positive for WNV IgM and all the samples were negative for WNV IgG; 27 (22.5%) samples were positive for B. burgdorferi IgM and six (5%) samples were positive for B. burgdorferi IgG, all the samples were negative for R. conorii IgM, however 11 (9.2%) samples were positive for R. conorii IgG. Ticks removed from patients had 4 different genera, namely lxodes spp., Hyalomma spp., Haemaphysalis spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. Conclusions: Actual data on the tick species were obtained in this first investigation performed in Tekirdag region. In addition, the seroprevalence of these zoonotic infections in the region was provided by this study.