Natural foci of tick-borne infections on the southeast areas of Sikhote-Alin complex characteristics
To date, such agents of tick-borne infections as the virus of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Rickettsia, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Borrelia miyamotoi, causing ticks-borne borrelioses (TBB), Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia muris, causing human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HMA), Anaplasma phagocytophilum - human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) are known in the Primorsky region. The main carriers of these infections are ticks, whose composition is presented 17 species. Purpose: to give a comprehensive biological characterization of natural foci of tick-borne infections, and to determine the role of ticks in the spread of pathogens (TBE, TBB, HMA, HGA) in foci of the south-east of the Sikhote-Alin. Materials and methods: collection of ticks carried by a flag on the three routes of Shkotovsky and Olginsky areas. 129 specimens ixodes ticks were collected. Research conducted ticks by polymerase chain reaction in real time (PCR-RT). Results and discussion: domination of I. persulcatus on all routes, Haemaphysalis and Dermacentor ticks occurrence in single copies was shown during conducted researches. In any case, we have not identified in ticks TBEV genetic marker. Results by PCR-RT showed the prevalence of ticks infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. At the same routes №1 and №2 Shkotovsky area infected ticks I. persulcatus reached extremely high values (68.8 ± 11.6% and 62.5 ± 9.9%, respectively). On the route №3 in Olginskiy area index infestation ticks B. burgdorferi s.l. (23.1 ± 11.7%) was significantly lower than those rates on the routes №1 and №2 (P≤0,05 and P≤0,05 respectively). Also, prerequisites for the occurrence of rare cases of human infection with B. miyamotoi, Anaplasma and Ehrlich were identified on those routes. Conclusion: the obtained data shows that the territory Shkotovsky area is epidemiologically unfavorable area for a meeting with the probability of infected ticks.