DETECTION OF CAUSATIVE AGENTS OF TICK-BORNE INFECTIONS BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION ASSAY CARRIED OUT AS A PART OF CLINICAL STUDIES IN THE “REPUBLICAN CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL” OF ULAN-UDE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of vector-borne pathogens circulating in the Republic of Buryatia. The authors have carried out identification of the genetic material of tick-borne encephalitis virus, Borrellia burgdorferi, Borrellia miуamotoi, Coxiella burnetii and Rickettsia sibirica in various samples of biological material. The object of the study were whole blood, leukocyte fraction and blood serum of patients admitted to the hospital in a state of fever that occurred after sucking of the tick, as well as mites brought by the population. A detailed analysis of the data showed that 11.7 % (9 out of 70) of the clinical material samples and 17.8 % (50 out of 281) of the tick samples had genetic markers of tick-borne pathogens. In the material from the patients, the RNA of tick-borne encephalitis virus was most often determined, and in the DNA of Borrellia burgdorferi mites. In addition, the authors first confirmed the etiologic role of Borrellia miуamotoi in the development of cases of Lyme disease in the Republic. An unexpected finding was the detection of Coxiella burnetii DNA in ticks and in clinical material. In the Republic of Buryatia Q-fever was detected by laboratory diagnostics for the first time. This fact confirms the circulation of this pathogen in the region. In this regard, the authors conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical histories of patients who were found to have genetic markers of Q-fever.

Keywords

• tick-borne infections
• feral herd infections
• polymerase chain reaction method (pcr)