The Tick-Borne Pathogens: An Overview of China’s Situation

Background Ticks are important medical arthropods that can transmit hundreds of pathogens, such as parasites, bacteria, and viruses, leading to serious public health burdens worldwide. Unexplained fever is the most common clinical manifestation of tick-borne diseases. Since the emergence of Severe A...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta parasitologica 2023-03, Vol.68 (1), p.1-20
Main Authors: Luan, Yuxuan, Gou, Jingmin, Zhong, Dongjie, Ma, Li, Yin, Chuansong, Shu, Minfeng, Liu, Guangyuan, Lin, Qing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography
Animals
Arachnids
Arthropods
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Bird migration
Birds - parasitology
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Diagnosis
Differential diagnosis
Ecology
Ectoparasites
Encephalitis
Epidemiology
Fever
Geographical distribution
Health risks
Health services
Humans
Laboratory tests
Medical Microbiology
Medical treatment
Microbiology
Migratory birds
Northern Hemisphere
Parasitic diseases
Parasitology
Pathogens
Public health
Respiratory diseases
Review
Risk assessment
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Signs and symptoms
Tick-borne diseases
Tick-Borne Diseases - epidemiology
Tick-Borne Diseases - veterinary
Ticks
Ticks - microbiology
Vectors
Viral diseases
Viruses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Ticks are important medical arthropods that can transmit hundreds of pathogens, such as parasites, bacteria, and viruses, leading to serious public health burdens worldwide. Unexplained fever is the most common clinical manifestation of tick-borne diseases. Since the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases led to the hospital overload and fewer laboratory tests for tick-borne diseases. Therefore, it is essential to review the tick-borne pathogens and further understand tick-borne diseases. Purpose The geographic distribution and population of ticks in the Northern hemisphere have expanded while emerging tick-borne pathogens have been introduced to China continuously. This paper focused on the tick-borne pathogens that are threatening public health in the world. Their medical significant tick vectors, as well as the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control measures, are emphasized in this document. Methods In this study, all required data were collected from articles indexed in English databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Results Ticks presented a great threat to the economy and public health. Although both infections by tick-borne pathogens and SARS-CoV-2 have fever symptoms, the history of tick bite and its associated symptoms such as encephalitis or eschar could be helpful for the differential diagnosis. Additionally, as a carrier of vector ticks, migratory birds may play a potential role in the geographical expansion of ticks and tick-borne pathogens during seasonal migration. Conclusion China should assess the risk score of vector ticks and clarify the potential role of migratory birds in transmitting ticks. Additionally, the individual and collective protection, vector control, comprehensive surveillance, accurate diagnosis, and symptomatic treatment should be carried out, to meet the challenge. Graphical Abstract
ISSN:1230-2821
1896-1851
DOI:10.1007/s11686-023-00658-1