Epidemiology and Infectious DiseasesEpidemiology and Infectious Diseases1560-95292411-3026Eco-Vector10907010.17816/EID109070Research ArticleDistribution of the causative agent of relapsing tick-borne fever <i>Borrelia miyamotoi</i> in natural focus in the Tomsk regionVoronkovaOlga V.<p>MD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Associate Professor</p>Voronkova-ov@yandex.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9478-3429LukashovaLarisa V.<p>MD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Associate Professor</p>luni-april@yandex.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7119-391XKarpovaMaria R.<p>MD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Professor</p>mrkarpova@mail.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7109-9955IlyinskikhEkaterina N.<p>MD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Associate Professor</p>infconf2009@mail.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7646-6905SemenovAlbert G.albertgs@yandex.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6382-8548EsimovaIrina E.<p>MD, Dr. Sci. (Med.)</p>orevi@mail.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7508-2878MotlokhovaElizaveta A.emotlohova@gmail.comhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7409-3770ChernyshovNikita A.niki-rembo@mail.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4008-5606IlyanovaIrina N.irina_nt2013@mail.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9225-5315Siberian State Medical University0710202227115222906202218072022Copyright © 2022, Voronkova O.V., Lukashova L.V., Karpova M.R., Ilyinskikh E.N., Semenov A.G., Esimova I.E., Motlokhova E.A., Chernyshov N.A., Ilyanova I.N.2022<p><em><strong>BACKGROUND:</strong></em> Knowledge about the infectious potential of the causative agent of recurrent tick-borne fever <em>Borrelia miyamotoi</em> and the role of this pathogen in the etiological structure formation of transmissible natural focal infections in a number of regions remains incomplete. Among them is the Tomsk region where in 2021 the incidence of ixodic tick-borne borreliosis was 15.7 per 100,000 population, which is 3.6 times higher than the all-Russian indicator.</p>
<p><em><strong>AIMS:</strong> </em>This study aimed to summarize and analyze epidemiological data, as well as the results of our own clinical observations and laboratory studies conducted in 20152021 confirming the distribution of the causative agent of relapsing tick-borne fever <em><strong>B. miyamotoi</strong></em> in the Tomsk region.</p>
<p><em><strong>MATERIALS AND METHODS:</strong></em> Epidemiological data on the manifestation of the natural foci of tick-borne infections were analyzed in the Tomsk region for the period 20152021. A clinical case of febrile infection caused by <em><strong>B. miyamotoi</strong></em> infection is described as an example of underdiagnosis of relapsing tick-borne fever. Verification of the etiological variant of borreliosis was carried out using real-time PCR. DNA extraction and detection of B. miyamotoi genetic markers were performed using RealBest series kits (Vector-Best, Novosibirsk), followed by nucleic acid sequencing of B. miyamotoi 23SrRNA, glpQ, and recA gene sequences. Ixodid ticks (Ixodes persulcatus, Ixodes pavlovskyi, Dermacentor reticulatus) collected from the Tomsk region were studied for infestation with B. miyamotoi. The detection of genetic markers of pathogenic Borrelia was carried out in nucleic acid samples isolated from tick homogenates using kits of the RealBest series (Vector-Best, Novosibirsk).</p>
<p><em><strong>RESULTS:</strong> </em>In 2016, the first clinical case of borreliosis caused by <em>B. miyamotoi</em> was confirmed by molecular genetic methods in the Tomsk region. During the period 20152021, the infection rate of B. miyamotoi ticks of the genus Ixodes in the Tomsk region was up to 7%, ticks of the genus Dermacentor ― up to 3%.</p>
<p><em><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong></em> The results of this study demonstrated the distribution of the causative agent of relapsing tick-borne fever <em>B. miyamotoi</em> in the natural foci of the Tomsk region, which requires further monitoring of the epizootic situation and study of the role of this pathogen in the formation of the etiological structure of transmission natural focal infections.</p>tick-borne borreliosistick-borne relapsing feverBorrelia miyamotoiиксодовый клещевой боррелиозвозвратная клещевая лихорадкаBorrelia miyamotoi[Korenberg EI, Pomelova VG, Osin NS. Infections with natural focality transmitted by ixodid ticks. Moscow; 2013. 464 p. (In Russ).][Rudakova SA, Pen’evskaya NA, Blokh AI, et al. Review of the epidemiological situation on ixodic tick-borne borreliosis in the Russian Federation in 2010–2020 and prognosis for 2021. Problems of Particularly Dangerous Infections. 2021;(2):52–61. (In Russ). doi: 10.21055/0370-1069-2021-2-52-61][Platonov AE, Karan’ LS, Kolyasnikova NM, et al. Taxonomic position and genetic diversity of the borrelia species Borrelia miyamotoi ― the causative agent of the “new” ixodic tick-borne borreliosis. Molecular diagnostics – 2010: Proceedings of the All-Russian scientific and practical conference with international participation. Vol. 2. Ed. by V.I. Pokrovsky. Moscow: EhiViDzhi. Р. 250–256. (In Russ).][Sarksyan DS. Ixodic tick-borne borreliosis ― the current state of the problem. Infectious diseases. 2015;13(2):61–67. (In Russ).][Platonov AE, Maleev VV, Karan’ LS, et al. Relapsing fever borrelioses: forgotten and new ones. Ther Arch. 2010;82(11):74–80. (In Russ).][Krasnova EI, Savel’eva MV, Khokhlova NI, et al. Features of clinical manifestations and laboratory diagnostics of recurrent tick fever caused by Borrelia miyamotoi in the Novosibirsk region. Epidemiology and infectious diseases. 2017;(2):10–14. (In Russ).][Kubiak K, Szczotko M, Dmitryjuk M. Borrelia miyamotoi ― an emerging human tick-borne pathogen in Europe. Microorganisms. 2021;9(1):154. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9010154][Cutler SJ. Relapsing fever borreliae: a global review. Clin Lab Med. 2015;35(4):847–865. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2015.07.001][Stukolova OA, Kolyasnikova NM, Sarksyan DS, et al. Development and use of a planar protein biochip for the serological diagnostics of tick-borne borreliosis caused by Borrelia miyamotoi. Molecular Diagnostics – 2017: Proceedings of the IX All-Russian scientific and practical conference with International participation, April 18–20, 2017. Ed. by V.I. Pokrovsky. Moscow: Yulis; 2017. Р. 151–152. (In Russ).][On the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in the Tomsk region in 2021. The State report. Tomsk, 2022. 173 p. (In Russ).][On the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in the Russian Federation in 2020. The State report. Moscow; 2021. 256 p. (In Russ).][On the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in the Tomsk region in 2020. The State report. Tomsk, 2021. 187 p. (In Russ).][Rudakova SA, Teslova OE, Kaneshova NE, et al. Genospecies diversity of borrelia in ixodes ticks of the West Siberia. Problems of Particularly Dangerous Infections. 2019;(4):92–96. (In Russ). doi: 10.21055/0370-1069-2019-4-92-96][Kolyasnikova NM, Sarkisyan DS, Toporkova MG, et al. Epidemiological and clinical aspects of non-erythemic forms of ixodic tick-borne borreliosis in Russia. MediAl’ J. 2018;2(22):59–60. (In Russ).][Platonov AE, Karan LS, Kolyasnikova NM, et al. Humans infected with the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi, Russia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011;17(10):1816–1822. doi: 10.3201/eid1710.101474][Khasnatinov MA, Danchinova GA, Takano A, et al. Prevalence of Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes persulcatus in Irkutsk city and its neighboring territories, Russia. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2016;7(2): 394–397. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.12.016][Leonova GN, Lubova VA, Ivanis VA. Monitoring of pathogens of tick-borne infections on the territory of Primorsky Krai in 2014–2018. Pacific Medical Journal. 2018;4(74):10–14. (In Russ). doi: 10.17238/PmJ1609-1175.2018.4.10-14][Alexandrov GO, Karpova MR, Pototskaya YuA, et al. Determination of Borrelia miyamotoi ― the causative agent of tick-borne recurrent fever in the ticks and blood of a patient in the Tomsk region. Molecular Diagnostics – 2017: Proceedings of the IX All-Russian scientific and practical conference with International participation, April 18–20, 2017. Ed. by V.I. Pokrovsky. Moscow: Yulis; 2017. Р. 338–339. (In Russ).][Kondrashova AM, Karpova MR, Bondarenko EI, et al. The first confirmed case of tick-borne recurrent fever caused by Borrelia miyamotoi in the Tomsk region. Infection and Immunity. 2017;(S):450. (In Russ).]