TY - JOUR
AU - Sanogo, Yibayiri O.
AU - Zeaiter, Zaher
AU - Caruso, Guiseppe
AU - Merola, Francesco
AU - Shpynov, Stanislav
AU - Brouqui, Philippe
AU - Raoult, Didier
T1 - Bartonella henselae in Ixodes ricinus Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) Removed from Humans, Belluno Province, Italy
T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal
PY - 2003
VL - 9
IS - 3
SP - 329
SN - 1080-6059
AB - The potential role of ticks as vectors of Bartonella species has recently been suggested. In this study, we investigated the presence of Bartonella species in 271 ticks removed from humans in Belluno Province, Italy. By using primers derived from the 60-kDa heat shock protein gene sequences, Bartonella DNA was amplified and sequenced from four Ixodes ricinus ticks (1.48%). To confirm this finding, we performed amplification and partial sequencing of the pap31 protein and the cell division protein FtsZ encoding genes. This process allowed us to definitively identify B. henselae (genotype Houston-1) DNA in the four ticks. Detection of B. henselae in these ticks might represent a highly sensitive form of xenodiagnosis. B. henselae is the first human-infecting Bartonella identified from Ixodes ricinus, a common European tick and the vector of various tickborne pathogens. The role of ticks in the transmission of bartonellosis should be further investigated.
KW - Bartonella henselae (Houston-1)
KW - Ixodes ricinus
KW - ticks
KW - Italy
KW - research
DO - 10.3201/eid0903.020133
UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/3/02-0133_article
ER - End of Reference