PCR based prevalence study of Francisella tularensis in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv oblasts during 2015–2018

Zlenko, Oksana Borysivna; Tkach, Gennadiy Evgenievich; Sukhorukova, Anna Borysivna; Kylypko, Lyudmila Vitaliivna; Machota, Lubov Stepanivna; Ignatenkov, Oleksandr Stefanovych; Vinokurova, Kateryna Volodymyrivna; Shamychkova, Galyna Rostyslavivna; Shtepa, Oleksandr Pymonovych; Rezvykh, Valentyna Gennadievna; Schwarz, Julia; Duerr, Angela; Popp, Claudia; Buttlar, Heiner von; Wolfel, Roman; Solodiankin, Oleksii Sergiiovych; Gerilovych, Anton Pavlovych

doi:10.2478/jvetres-2020-0007

Abstract

Introduction

Tularaemia is a zoonotic disease caused by the gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis, which is endemic to Ukraine. The aim of this work was to provide screening of different field samples (rodent tails, ticks, pellets, water, and hay) to obtain an actual picture of the tularaemia epizootic situation in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv oblasts.

Material and Methods

Samples were collected using the flag method (for ticks) and break-back traps (for rodents). Also, hay, water and owl pellets were collected for study. The F. tularensis genetic material in samples was detected using a 16S qPCR.

Results

It was found that in Kharkiv oblast, 23% of collected samples were positive for F. tularensis, in Dnipropetrovsk oblast 1.9%, and in Mykolaiv oblast 0.4%.

Conclusion

Among the sample types, 34.7% of ticks, 1.8% of rodents, and 36.4% of pellets were positive for F. tularensis. The most frequent carriers of F. tularensis were the D. reticulatus and I. ricinus ticks (74.2% and 29.3%, respectively, of positive results).

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