Infection Rates and Characterisation of (Rickettsiaceae) Detected in Species from Southern Africa

Overview

Journal Microorganisms

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2024 Aug 29

PMID 39203504

Authors

Andeliza Smit

Fernando C Mulandane

Stephane H Wojcik

Choolwe Malabwa

Gourgelia Sili

Stephen Mandara

Hannah Rose Vineer

Zinathi Dlamkile

Wilhelm H Stoltsz

Darshana Morar-Leather

Benjamin L Makepeace

Luis Neves

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Tick-borne rickettsioses are considered among the oldest known vector-borne zoonotic diseases. Among the rickettsiae, is the most reported and important in Africa, as it is the aetiological agent of African tick bite fever (ATBF). Studies describing the prevalence of . in southern Africa are fragmented, as they are limited to small geographical areas and focused on and as vectors. spp. ticks were collected in Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe during the sampling period from March 2020 to September 2022. was detected using the gene, while characterisation was conducted using , , and genes. In total, 7734 spp. ticks were collected and were morphologically and molecularly identified as , . , and . . Low levels of variability were observed in the phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated genes. The prevalence of . ranged from 11.7% in South Africa to 35.7% in Zambia. This is one of the largest studies on . prevalence in southern Africa and highlights the need for the inclusion of ATBF as a differential diagnosis when inhabitants and travellers present with flu-like symptoms in the documented countries.

References

Matsimbe A, Magaia V, Sanches G, Neves L, Noormahomed E, Antunes S . Molecular detection of pathogens in ticks infesting cattle in Nampula province, Mozambique. Exp Appl Acarol. 2017; 73(1):91-102. PMC: 5705812. DOI: 10.1007/s10493-017-0155-5. View

Kelly P, Beati L, Mason P, Matthewman L, Roux V, Raoult D . Rickettsia africae sp. nov., the etiological agent of African tick bite fever. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1996; 46(2):611-4. DOI: 10.1099/00207713-46-2-611. View

Magaia V, Taviani E, Cangi N, Neves L . Molecular detection of Rickettsia africae in Amblyomma ticks collected in cattle from Southern and Central Mozambique. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2020; 14(6):614-622. DOI: 10.3855/jidc.11625. View

Kimita G, Mutai B, Nyanjom S, Wamunyokoli F, Waitumbi J . Phylogenetic Variants of Rickettsia africae, and Incidental Identification of "Candidatus Rickettsia Moyalensis" in Kenya. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016; 10(7):e0004788. PMC: 4936727. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004788. View

Macaluso K, Sonenshine D, Ceraul S, Azad A . Rickettsial infection in Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) inhibits transovarial transmission of a second Rickettsia. J Med Entomol. 2002; 39(6):809-13. DOI: 10.1603/0022-2585-39.6.809. View

Blanc G, Ngwamidiba M, Ogata H, Fournier P, Claverie J, Raoult D . Molecular evolution of rickettsia surface antigens: evidence of positive selection. Mol Biol Evol. 2005; 22(10):2073-83. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msi199. View

Thu M, Qiu Y, Matsuno K, Kajihara M, Mori-Kajihara A, Omori R . Diversity of spotted fever group rickettsiae and their association with host ticks in Japan. Sci Rep. 2019; 9(1):1500. PMC: 6365641. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37836-5. View

Mazhetese E, Magaia V, Taviani E, Neves L, Morar-Leather D . Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2021; 15(8):1039-1047. DOI: 10.3855/jidc.13291. View

Bouyer D, Stenos J, Moron C, Popov V, Zavala-Velazquez J, Foil L . Rickettsia felis: molecular characterization of a new member of the spotted fever group. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2001; 51(Pt 2):339-347. DOI: 10.1099/00207713-51-2-339. View

10.

Budachetri K, Kumar D, Crispell G, Beck C, Dasch G, Karim S . The tick endosymbiont Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii and selenoproteins are essential for the growth of Rickettsia parkeri in the Gulf Coast tick vector. Microbiome. 2018; 6(1):141. PMC: 6090677. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-018-0524-2. View

11.

Gillespie J, Beier M, Rahman M, Ammerman N, Shallom J, Purkayastha A . Plasmids and rickettsial evolution: insight from Rickettsia felis. PLoS One. 2007; 2(3):e266. PMC: 1800911. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000266. View

12.

Mediannikov O, Trape J, Diatta G, Parola P, Fournier P, Raoult D . Rickettsia africae, Western Africa. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010; 16(3):571-3. PMC: 3322006. DOI: 10.3201/eid1603.090346. View

13.

Eldin C, Mediannikov O, Davoust B, Cabre O, Barre N, Raoult D . Emergence of Rickettsia africae, Oceania. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011; 17(1):100-2. PMC: 3204645. DOI: 10.3201/eid1701.101081. View

14.

Pillay A, Nyangiwe N, Mukaratirwa S . Low genetic diversity and population structuring of Amblyomma hebraeum and Rickettsia africae from coastal and inland regions in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Med Vet Entomol. 2022; 37(2):275-285. PMC: 10191886. DOI: 10.1111/mve.12629. View

15.

Jado I, Escudero R, Gil H, Jimenez-Alonso M, Sousa R, Garcia-Perez A . Molecular method for identification of Rickettsia species in clinical and environmental samples. J Clin Microbiol. 2006; 44(12):4572-6. PMC: 1698399. DOI: 10.1128/JCM.01227-06. View

16.

Darriba D, Taboada G, Doallo R, Posada D . jModelTest 2: more models, new heuristics and parallel computing. Nat Methods. 2012; 9(8):772. PMC: 4594756. DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.2109. View

17.

Thekisoe O, Ramatla T, Ringo A, Mnisi S, Mphuthi N, Mofokeng L . Molecular detection of Rickettsia africae from Amblyomma hebraeum ticks in Mafikeng city of North West Province, South Africa. Res Vet Sci. 2023; 164:105027. DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2023.105027. View

18.

Fournier P, El Karkouri K, Leroy Q, Robert C, Giumelli B, Renesto P . Analysis of the Rickettsia africae genome reveals that virulence acquisition in Rickettsia species may be explained by genome reduction. BMC Genomics. 2009; 10:166. PMC: 2694212. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-10-166. View

19.

Ponnusamy L, Gonzalez A, Van Treuren W, Weiss S, Parobek C, Juliano J . Diversity of Rickettsiales in the microbiome of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2013; 80(1):354-9. PMC: 3910995. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02987-13. View

20.

Mutai B, Wainaina J, Magiri C, Nganga J, Ithondeka P, Njagi O . Zoonotic surveillance for rickettsiae in domestic animals in Kenya. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2013; 13(6):360-6. DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2012.0977. View