Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) survey for rickettsias and bartonellas in ticks from New Zealand

Authors: Rolain J-M, Kelly PJ, Raoult D, Midwinter A
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 53, Issue 6, pp 468-469, Dec 2005
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cattle, Deer, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Bacterial, Protozoa, Disease/defect, Infectious disease, Biosecurity, Circulatory system/haematology, Diagnostic procedures, Disease surveillance, Disease transmission, Epidemiology, Notifiable organisms/exotic disease, Parasites - external, Rickettsia, Integument/skin/wool/hair/fur/feather
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: New Zealand is remarkable for the few species of tick that occur in the country and an apparent absence of tick-borne diseases. There is, however, only a lack of reports of locally-acquired infections which indicates tick-borne spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsias, ehrlichias, anaplasmas and bartonellas do not occur in the country (Roberts et al 2001). To provide more definitive information, we conducted a PCR survey on ticks from New Zealand.
Ticks were obtained from abattoirs (slaughtering cattle, deer and lambs) in Auckland, Hamilton and Moerewa in the north of the North Island of New Zealand, and 21 were obtained from an historic (up to 20 years old) tick collection at Massey University, Palmerston North. Six Aponomma sphenodontiwere obtained from tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) on Stephens Island during a translocation exercise. The ticks were preserved in 95% ethanol until DNA was extracted using the QIAamp Tissue Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany), and assayed using genus-specific PCR primers for Rickettsia spp, Ehrlichia spp, Anaplasma spp, and Bartonella spp derived from the gltA, rompB, its, pap31 and 16S rRNA gene, as described previously…

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