Chlamydial and rickettsial transmission through tick bite in children

F, Facco; Grazi, Grazia; Bonassi, Stefano; Magnani, M.; Pietro, Pasquale Di

doi:10.1016/0140-6736(92)91572-p

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…However, the fact that Rhabdochlamydiaceae DNAs are present in huge amounts within Ixodes ricinus ticks should trigger studies aiming at investigating the prevalence of these Chlamydiales bacteria within wild and farm animals, as well as the prevalence in humans with and without a history of tick bites. Several previous studies suggested a possible transmission of bacteria of the Chlamydiales order to humans and animals through ticks (22,23,37). This report provides a supplementary hint supporting these observations, and further work will be necessary to increase our knowledge about transmission of Chlamydiales bacteria by ticks.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 47%

The High Prevalence and Diversity of Chlamydiales DNA within Ixodes ricinus Ticks Suggest a Role for Ticks as Reservoirs and Vectors of Chlamydia-Related Bacteria

Pilloux

Aeby

Gäumann

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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bThe Chlamydiales order is composed of nine families of strictly intracellular bacteria. Among them, Chlamydia trachomatis, C. pneumoniae, and C. psittaci are established human pathogens, whereas Waddlia chondrophila and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae have emerged as new pathogens in humans. However, despite their medical importance, their biodiversity and ecology remain to be studied. Even if arthropods and, particularly, ticks are well known to be vectors of numerous infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria, virtually nothing is known about ticks and chlamydia. This study investigated the prevalence of Chlamydiae in ticks. Specifically, 62,889 Ixodes ricinus ticks, consolidated into 8,534 pools, were sampled in 172 collection sites throughout Switzerland and were investigated using pan-Chlamydiales quantitative PCR (qPCR) for the presence of Chlamydiales DNA. Among the pools, 543 (6.4%) gave positive results and the estimated prevalence in individual ticks was 0.89%. Among those pools with positive results, we obtained 16S rRNA sequences for 359 samples, allowing classification of Chlamydiales DNA at the family level. A high level of biodiversity was observed, since six of the nine families belonging to the Chlamydiales order were detected. Those most common were Parachlamydiaceae (33.1%) and Rhabdochlamydiaceae (29.2%). "Unclassified Chlamydiales" (31.8%) were also often detected. Thanks to the huge amount of Chlamydiales DNA recovered from ticks, this report opens up new perspectives on further work focusing on whole-genome sequencing to increase our knowledge about Chlamydiales biodiversity. This report of an epidemiological study also demonstrates the presence of Chlamydia-related bacteria within Ixodes ricinus ticks and suggests a role for ticks in the transmission of and as a reservoir for these emerging pathogenic Chlamydia-related bacteria.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 47%

The High Prevalence and Diversity of Chlamydiales DNA within Ixodes ricinus Ticks Suggest a Role for Ticks as Reservoirs and Vectors of Chlamydia-Related Bacteria

Pilloux

Aeby

Gäumann

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Transmission of Chlamydia to human via tick bite was indirectly suggested earlier by development of antibodies against Chlamydia after tick bite in children [ 35 ]. To assess whether CLOs could be transmitted to humans via ticks, we studied DNA extracted from skin biopsies taken from individuals with suspected tick bite in history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chlamydia-Like Organisms (CLOs) in Finnish Ixodes ricinus Ticks and Human Skin

et al. 2016

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Ticks carry several human pathogenic microbes including Borreliae and Flavivirus causing tick-born encephalitis. Ticks can also carry DNA of Chlamydia-like organisms (CLOs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of CLOs in ticks and skin biopsies taken from individuals with suspected tick bite. DNA from CLOs was detected by pan-Chlamydiales-PCR in 40% of adult ticks from southwestern Finland. The estimated minimal infection rate for nymphs and larvae (studied in pools) was 6% and 2%, respectively. For the first time, we show CLO DNA also in human skin as 68% of all skin biopsies studied contained CLO DNA as determined through pan-Chlamydiales-PCR. Sequence analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene fragment indicated that the sequences detected in ticks were heterogeneous, representing various CLO families; whereas the majority of the sequences from human skin remained “unclassified Chlamydiales” and might represent a new family-level lineage. CLO sequences detected in four skin biopsies were most closely related to “uncultured Chlamydial bacterium clones from Ixodes ricinus ticks” and two of them were very similar to CLO sequences from Finnish ticks. These results suggest that CLO DNA is present in human skin; ticks carry CLOs and could potentially transmit CLOs to humans.

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“…This technical limitation will be overcome as sequence data from a wider range of microorganisms become available. Although possible transmission of Chlamydial bacteria to cattle and humans through ticks was reported in several previous studies (Caldwell and Belden, 1973;McKercher et al, 1980;Facco et al, 1992), there has been no molecular genetic evidence to support these observational studies. Thus, this is the first molecular genetic evidence supporting the presence of Chlamydial organisms in ticks.…”

Section: The Isme Journalmentioning

confidence: 92%

A novel approach, based on BLSOMs (Batch Learning Self-Organizing Maps), to the microbiome analysis of ticks

et al. 2013

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Ticks transmit a variety of viral, bacterial and protozoal pathogens, which are often zoonotic. The aim of this study was to identify diverse tick microbiomes, which may contain as-yet unidentified pathogens, using a metagenomic approach. DNA prepared from bacteria/archaea-enriched fractions obtained from seven tick species, namely Amblyomma testudinarium, Amblyomma variegatum, Haemaphysalis formosensis, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes ovatus, Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes ricinus, was subjected to pyrosequencing after whole-genome amplification. The resulting sequence reads were phylotyped using a Batch Learning Self-Organizing Map (BLSOM) program, which allowed phylogenetic estimation based on similarity of oligonucleotide frequencies, and functional annotation by BLASTX similarity searches. In addition to bacteria previously associated with human/animal diseases, such as Anaplasma, Bartonella, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, Francisella and Rickettsia, BLSOM analysis detected microorganisms belonging to the phylum Chlamydiae in some tick species. This was confirmed by pan-Chlamydia PCR and sequencing analysis. Gene sequences associated with bacterial pathogenesis were also identified, some of which were suspected to originate from horizontal gene transfer. These efforts to construct a database of tick microbes may lead to the ability to predict emerging tick-borne diseases. Furthermore, a comprehensive understanding of tick microbiomes will be useful for understanding tick biology, including vector competency and interactions with pathogens and symbionts

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Chlamydial and rickettsial transmission through tick bite in children

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

The High Prevalence and Diversity of Chlamydiales DNA within Ixodes ricinus Ticks Suggest a Role for Ticks as Reservoirs and Vectors of Chlamydia-Related Bacteria

The High Prevalence and Diversity of Chlamydiales DNA within Ixodes ricinus Ticks Suggest a Role for Ticks as Reservoirs and Vectors of Chlamydia-Related Bacteria

Chlamydia-Like Organisms (CLOs) in Finnish Ixodes ricinus Ticks and Human Skin

A novel approach, based on BLSOMs (Batch Learning Self-Organizing Maps), to the microbiome analysis of ticks

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