Molecular detection ofCoxiella burnetiiandBorrelia burgdorferiin ticks infesting goats in North-Eastern states of India

Coxiella burnetii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato are intracellular bacteria of great zoonotic importance.
To detect these two pathogensin ticks as well as in blood samples, a nested PCR and conventional PCR
was used. A total of 525 ticks were collected randomly from infected goats. Blood samples were also
collected from tick-infested goats. Both samples were assessed for the presence of these organisms
using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays targeting a fragment of 16S rRNA, superoxide dismutase
(SOD) of C. burnetii and ospA gene of B. burgdorferi s.l. Sequence analysis of the amplified fragment was
used to confirm PCR findings. The PCR products were purified, cloned and custom sequenced. A few
blood samples were found positive for both C. burnetii and B. Burgdorferi sensu lato. A total of 12 isolates
of the 16S rRNA gene fragment and one isolate of the SOD gene fragment of C. burnetii were obtained.
The sequences were aligned and a phylogenetic tree was made with other published C. burnetii
sequences. Our finding indicated that ticks were infesting goats as well as blood samples harbour C.
burnetii and B. burgdorferi sensu lato providing possible zoonotic transmission of these bacteria from
animals to humans through ticks.