Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in Ticks Infesting Humans, Wild and Domesticated Animals of Sri Lanka: One Health Approach
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Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio. Sci.) 44 (2): 67-74, 2015 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/cjsbs.v44i2.7351 RESEARCH ARTICLE Spotted fever group rickettsia in ticks infesting humans, wild and domesticated animals of Sri Lanka: one health approach D. R. Liyanaarachchi1*, R. S. Rajakaruna2, and R. P. V. J. Rajapakse1 1Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. 2Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Accepted December 31, 2015 ABSTRACT Spotted fever group rickettsial infections are considered an emerging infectious disease in Sri Lanka. The present study examined the potential role of tick vectors carrying the infection from sylvatic reservoirs to humans via domesticated animals. Ticks infesting humans, dogs and wild animals were collected island-wide and were identified. Presence of spotted fever group rickettsia in the tick blood meal was determined using PCR in a sub-sample of ticks collected. A total of 30,933 ticks were collected from 30 different hosts and free living stages from the ground. The collection consisted of 25 tick species recording 12 species from humans, 19 from domesticated animals and 22 from wild animals. Of the total collection, randomly selected sub-sample of 80 ticks were used to identify rickettsia pathogens. This comprised of fifty ticks from 50 wild animals belonged to 15 species (wild boar, pangolin, porcupine, barking deer, star tortoise, mouse deer, samber, spotted deer, monkey, civet cat, bandicoot, elephant, fishing cat, rabbit, flying squirrel; and 20 ticks from 15 dogs especially from areas where spotted fever cases were reported and 10 ticks from 10 humans. Results showed that rickettsial infections were found in four tick species, Amblyomma testudinarium collected from a wild boar, Riphicephalus sanguineus from a dog, Amblyomma clypeolatum from a star tortoise and Amblyomma javanense from a pangolin. Except for A. javanense, other three tick species are generalists infesting humans as well as domestic and wild animals. There is a high potential that these infections can spread easily to humans via the domesticated animals. This is the first report of ticks infesting domesticated and wild animals carrying spotted fever rikettsia and it underscores the possibility of spread of infection from wild reservoirs to human in the animal/human health interface. Keywords: ticks, zoonoses, domesticated animals, wildlife, spotted fever rickettsia INTRODUCTION Life cycle of tick-borne pathogens is highly dependent on tick ecology which is one of the most Tick-borne diseases recorded in humans include important factors driving the epidemiology of tick- rickettsioses, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Kyasaunur borne diseases (Randolph, 2009). In preventing forest disease, typhus fever varieties, haemoragic emergence of tick-borne diseases, role of wildlife fever varieties, tick borne encephalitis, Lyme as tick hosts and their role in the life cycle of tick- disease and Q fever (Jongejan and Uilenberge, borne pathogens is considered important. Some 2004). Most of these tick-borne infections emerge tick species may be generalists and may feed on from the wild reservoir (Daszak et al., 2001) and different vertebrate species depending on their approximately 10% of the currently known 867 tick availability and abundance (Wilson et al., 1984) species act as vectors of a broad range of pathogens whereas other species may be more specific and of domestic animals (Jongejan and Uilenberge, use a narrow host range (Sonenshine et al., 2002). 2004).Ticks and tick-borne infections have Wild and domestic cycles are often coevolved with wild reservoirs which often live in complementary. Immature tick stages that a state of equilibrium but constitute a constant parasitize wild and peri-domestic animals can feed reservoir of infections to domesticated animals and later as adults on domesticated animals. Thus, humans. These wild hosts come into contact with investigating the role of wildlife as tick hosts is of domesticated animals when man moves livestock great relevance for understanding the into infested regions, or moved livestock infested epidemiology of tick-borne diseases shared with with the ticks into previously uninfected regions domesticated animals and humans (Ruiz-Fons et (Jongejan and Uilenberge, 2004). al., 2006; Ruiz-Fons and Gilbert, 2010). *Corresponding author’s email: [email protected] 68 Liyanaarachchi et al. The spotted fever rickettsiae are zoonotic where the protein encoded by this gene is referred to as the pathogens circulate in enzoonotic or occasionally genus – common antigen and is found in species of epizoonotic cycles, between wild vertebrates and both the spotted fever and typhus groups. their tick vectors (Walker and Fishbein, 1992). According to Rudakov et al. (2003) the pathogen According to Tzianabos et al. (1989) a nested PCR has natural cycles with parasitic systems that protocol that uses broad range primers R17 – 122 involve many wild mammals, tick vectors, and long (CAGAGTGCTATGAACAAACAA GG) and R17 term reservoirs of rickettsiae. Secondly, they also – 500 (CTTGCCATTGCCCATCAG GTTG) in the have domestic or anthropogenic cycles that involve primary stage and separate pairs of more specific domestic animals, especially dogs. People are an primers are used in the nested stage. TZ15 accidental host in the circulation and maintenance (TTCTCAATTCGGTAAGGGC:208–247 bp) and of the pathogen. These pathogens will mutate TZ16(ATATTGACCAGTGCTATTTC: 208 – 247) quickly and have shown a broad degree of severity are used for detection of R. ricketsii, and several especially in humans (Rudakov et al., 2003). closely related species of the spotted fever group Humans are only occasional hosts for ticks and and RP2 and RP1D for detection of Rickettsia typhi rarely play a role in the subsequent transmission of and Rickettsia prowazeki (Tzianabos et al., 1989). bacteria. Therefore, human should be viewed as a ‘dead end’ host, which plays no role in the maintenance of these bacteria in nature (Parola and MATERIALS AND METHODS Raoult, 2001). Collection of ticks Rickettsial infections have been reported in An island-wide collection of ticks infesting patients from the Central (Kularatne et al., 2003) humans, dogs and wild animals was carried out and Western (Premaratne, 2008) provinces of Sri during January 2009 to August 2011 and were Lanka as an emerging infection. Recently, identified. Of the collection, a sub sample of ticks Weerakoon et al. (2011a; b) recorded 220 IFA was used to analyse the presence of spotted fever confirmed patients with rickettsial infections from rickettsial infections. Ticks were collected from the Teaching Hospital,Peradeniya during 2008 to injured or dead wild animals which were brought 2010.These patients were found positive for three to veterinary hospitals or clinics in Kandy and to ricketsia species namely, Rickettsia conorii, wildlife parks at Minipe, Mihintale, Udawalawa, Orientia tsutsugamushi and Rickettsia typhi of Buttala, Randenigala, Yala and Wasgamuwa. Ticks which 91% being R. conorii with high number of infesting human ear canal were also collected from mixed infections (Weerakoon et al., 2011a,b).The the Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) clinic at Suwasewana reservoir and the vector of rickettsia in Sri Lanka Private Hospital in Kandy and through civilians in are largely unknown. Some of the tick species the Central Province. Ticks were preserved in 70% reported from Sri Lanka are known vectors of ethanol and brought to the laboratory in the rickettsia in the world. Lack of knowledge in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Faculty of infectious agents carried by tick species of Sri Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health at the Lanka, and sylvatic and domestic reservoirs and the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and identified zoonotic potential of tick-borne spotted fever group using light microscope and available keys and rickettsia prompted us to carry out the present literature (Nuttall et al., 1915; Sharif, 1928; study. Trapido et al., 1963; Seneviratne, 1965).Different stages (larvae, nymphs, and adults) and sex of adult Molecular methods based on polymerase chain ticks were also noted down. reaction (PCR) have enabled the development of sensitive, specific and rapid tools for both detection Identification of spotted fever rickettsial and identification of rickettsiae from various infections in ticks by nested PCR samples. Clinical specimens and arthropod tissues Eighty ticks from the total tick collection including could be used to detect rickettsia by PCR. For 50 ticks from wild animals such as wild boar, rickettsioses, detection strategies based on pangolin, porcupine, barking deer, star tortoise, recognition of sequences within the genes encoding mouse deer, samber, spotted deer, monkey, civet the 17 kDa protein (Paddock et al., 2006; Weinberg cat, bandicoot, elephant, fishing cat, rabbit, flying et al., 2008). PCR assays for rickettsial species are squirrel) and 20 ticks from dogs (n=15) especially carried out amplifying genes 17 kDa for spotted those from spotted fever infected areas and 10 ticks fever group (Eremeeva and Bosserman, 2006). The from human ear canal were used to study the gene encoding 17 kDa protein shows high presence of spotted fever rickettsial infections. homology among the spotted fever group (SFG) and typhus group (TG) rickettsiae and therefore, Isolation of genomic DNA the protocol used to detect spotted fever causing