A distinct Borrelia clade within the relapsing fever group from cat-infesting Haemaphysalis semermis Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae)

• Published in: Veterinary Research Communications
• Main Author: Kazim A.R.; Heo C.C.; Shahrizal S.; Er Y.X.; Houssaini J.; Veit A.; Muntau B.; Tappe D.; Muslim A.; Low V.L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media B.V. 2025
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85209142462&doi=10.1007%2fs11259-024-10591-x&partnerID=40&md5=5b3643263e5c5787acbb1ce34afa330d

An undescribed relapsing fever group Borrelia species was detected in a male Haemaphysalis semermis tick infesting a rural cat in an indigenous population in Pahang National Park, Peninsular Malaysia. The 16 S rRNA gene sequence revealed close similarity of this variant to several undescribed Borrelia species and Borrelia theileri, with genetic distances ranging from 0.58 to 0.72%. Furthermore, the flaB, gyrB, and the concatenated 16 S rRNA + flaB + gyrB sequence analyses demonstrated that this variant is distinctly separated from multiple undescribed Borrelia species, Borrelia miyamotoi, and B. theileri, with genetic distances ranging from 3.41 to 7.00%. This study not only reports the first Borrelia found in H. semermis but also suggests that it forms a distinct clade within the relapsing fever group in Peninsular Malaysia. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024.