Monitoring of Rickettsia monacensis in the Mountain Area of Slovakia

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https://doi.org/10.54937/zs.2022.14.2.41-44

Autori/ Authors: Mária Nováková      Bronislava Víchová       Michal Baláž

In: Zdravotnícke štúdie

ISSN: 1337-723X

Ročník/ Volume: XIV

Číslo/ Issue: 2

Strany/ Page Range: 41-44

Rok vydania/ Publication Year: 2022

Jazyk/ Language: English

Vydavateľ/ Publisher: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku

Abstrakt/ Abstract: 

Ciele/ Objectives: Ticks, as a vector of various infections occur every year in Liptov, a popular tourist location in Slovakia, and their occurrence generally has an increasing trend. As up to now several rickettsiae from the spotted fever group were confirmed in tick vectors from different areas of Slovakia. Therefore, identification of previously unknown areas with endemic occurrence of Rickettsia spp. is of great importance.
Materiál a metodika/ Material and methods: Questing ixodid ticks, small mammals, birds and wild boars from recreational areas of Liptov valley in northern Slovakia were tested for the presence of Rickettsia spp. and obtained sequences were further analyzed.
Výsledky/ Results: Overall, 8 out of 55 ixodid ticks (14.5%) tested positive for Rickettsia helvetica and one male tick (1.8%) was infected with Rickettsia monacensis. The identification of this species was based on the sequencing of 23S-5S internal transcribed spacer (ITS), gltA and ompA genes. Rickettsia spp. was detected in 7 rodents (5.8%) and 5 wild boars (5.9%) originated from Liptov valley, using gltA gene primer set.
Záver/ Conclusion: Our results confirm the presence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in tick vectors and hosts from northern part of Slovakia. Moreover, the evidence of the presence of Rickettsia spp. in vectors and in reservoirs indicate the circulation of the pathogen in nature and the need to monitor
the situation in this popular location in Slovakia.

Kľúčové slová/ Keywords: Rickettsia monacensis. Rickettsia Helvetica. Ixodes ricinus. Slovakia.

Citácia/ How to cite:

NOVÁKOVÁ, Mária; VÍCHOVÁ, Bronislava a BALÁŽ, Michal, 2023.  Monitoring of Rickettsia monacensis in the Mountain Area of Slovakia. Zdravotnícke štúdie. Online. Vol. XIV, no. 2, pp. 41-44. ISSN 1337-723X. Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.54937/zs.2022.14.2.41-44

Toto dielo je publikované pod/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.