Detection of Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes nipponensis in Korea

<b>Abstract</b> <b> </b> <b>Background</b> This study investigated <em>Borrelia</em> species prevalence in ticks from vegetation, through a molecular method, in Gwangju Metropolitan City, South Korea. <b> </b> <b>Methodology/Principal Findings</b> A total of 484 ticks were collected through flagging and dragging in a suburban area of Gwangju Metropolitan City, South Korea, in 2014. These ticks were morphologically identified and subjected to nested PCR, targeting <i>Borrelia</i>–specific CTP synthase (<i>pyrG</i>), outer surface protein A (<i>ospA</i>) and flagellin (<i>flaB</i>) genes. Molecular biological species identification of <i>Borrelia</i>-positive ticks was conducted via 16S rRNA PCR assays. Of the 484 ticks collected, 417 (86.2%) were identified as<i> Haemaphysalis longicornis</i>, 42 (8.7%) as <i>H. flava,</i> and 25 (5.2%) as <i>Ixodes nipponensis</i>. All the ixodid ticks containing <i>Borrelia</i> species bacteria were confirmed to be <i>I. nipponensis</i> adults, by both morphological and molecular methods. Of the 25 <i>I. nipponensis</i> ticks collected, four (16%) were positive for <i>Borrelia </i>species, three of which were <i>B. afzelii</i> and one<i> B. miyamotoi</i>. <b>Conclusions/Significance</b> Our study has shown the harboring of <i>B. miyamotoi </i>by <i>I. nipponensis</i> in South Korea, for the first time. Morphological and molecular genetic analyses revealed that, in South Korea,<i> I. nipponensis</i> could potentially transmit <i>B. miyamotoi </i>to humans.