Emerging Infectious Diseases (Jan 2021)

Relapsing Fever Group Borreliae in Human-Biting Soft Ticks, Brazil

  • Sebastián Muñoz-Leal,
  • Álvaro A. Faccini-Martínez,
  • Bruno M. Teixeira,
  • Maria Marlene Martins,
  • Maria Carolina A. Serpa,
  • Glauber M.B. Oliveira,
  • Felipe R. Jorge,
  • Richard C. Pacheco,
  • Francisco B. Costa,
  • Hermes R. Luz,
  • Marcelo B. Labruna

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2701.200349
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 1
pp. 322 – 324

Abstract

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We conducted a molecular survey for Borrelia spp. in Ornithodoros ticks previously reported as biting humans. We collected specimens in natural ecosystems and inside human dwellings in 6 states in Brazil. Phylogenetic analyses unveiled the occurrence of 4 putatively new species of relapsing fever group borreliae.

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