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The tick fauna in Istanbul, Turkey, from 2013 to 2017 and identification of their pathogens by multiplex PCR: an epidemiological study

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Abstract

Ticks may carry several pathogens as vectors and their pathogen load may vary due to differences in geography, climate and vegetation. In this study, we collected ticks from 39 districts of Istanbul (Turkey) between May and October, from 2013 to 2017, and identified them under stereo-microscope. In addition, we investigated the pathogens that the ticks carry (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia sp. and Babesia sp.) by using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. We collected a total of 875 ticks from the ground and from various animals and kept them at 4 °C until experiments. We identified 248 Rhipicephalus bursa (28.3% of the total), 205 (23.4%) Rhipicephalus annulatus, 197 (22.5%) Haemaphysalis concinna, 149 (17.0%) Rhipicephalus sanguineus, 24 (2.7%) Hyalomma marginatum, 21 (2.4%) Ixodes ricinus, 13 (1.5%) Rhipicephalus kohlsi, 5 (0.6%) Hyalomma anatolicum, 5 (0.6%) Hyalomma aegyptium, 5 (0.6%) Dermacentor niveus and 3 (0.3%) Ixodes hexagonus. We included a total of 328 questing ticks in the study: 63 R. bursa, 63 R. sanguineus, 63 R. annulatus, 63 H. concinna, 24 H. marginatum, 21 I. ricinus, 13 R. kohlsi, 5 H. anatolicum, 5 H. aegyptium, 5 D. niveus and 3 I. hexagonus. Multiplex PCR indicated that 80 (24.4%) ticks were infected with Rickettsia sp., 5 (1.5%) with B. burgdorferi and 1 (0.3%) with Babesia sp. Our study indicated that Rickettsia is more common in ticks collected around Istanbul.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Health Inc.

Funding

This study was funded by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Health Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Medical biology, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Zemin kat, Kocamustafapasa, 34098, Istanbul, Turkey

    Erdal Polat, Serdar Mehmet Altinkum & Onur Baykara

  2. Department of Environmental Management, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey

    Yasar Bagdatli

Authors
  1. Erdal Polat
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  2. Serdar Mehmet Altinkum
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  3. Yasar Bagdatli
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  4. Onur Baykara
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. EP: Writing, methodology, original draft preparation, MSA: investigation, YB: resources, methodology, OB: writing, reviewing, editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Onur Baykara.

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Polat, E., Altinkum, S.M., Bagdatli, Y. et al. The tick fauna in Istanbul, Turkey, from 2013 to 2017 and identification of their pathogens by multiplex PCR: an epidemiological study. Exp Appl Acarol 84, 825–834 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-021-00642-2

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