{
  "abstract": "Tick-borne pathogens are emerging across Southeast Asia, but their diversity and ecological drivers in Malaysia remain poorly understood. We screened 539 ixodid ticks collected from natural forests, marginal habitats, and oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia for Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp., and Orientia tsutsugamushi using PCR and phylogenetic analyses. Overall, 10.61% (7/66) of tick pools tested positive for bacterial pathogens. Rickettsia was detected in 4.55% (3/66) of pools from Dermacentor auratus and Amblyomma cordiferum, whereas Borrelia was detected in 6.06% (4/66) of pools from A. cordiferum, Haemaphysalis hystricis, and Ixodes granulatus. Orientia tsutsugamushi was not detected. Phylogenetic analyses placed the detected Rickettsia within ancestral and spotted fever groups and the detected Borrelia within Lyme disease and relapsing fever clades. Positive detections suggested habitat-specific patterns, with Borrelia identified only in forest-derived tick pools, Rickettsia detected in both forest and marginal habitats, and none of the targeted pathogens detected in plantation-derived pools. This study provides comparative molecular evidence of zoonotic tick-borne bacteria across contrasting landscapes in Peninsular Malaysia, establishing a baseline for future surveillance and underscoring the need to investigate how land-use change may influence pathogen transmission at the human–wildlife interface.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Tropical Infectious Diseases Research & Education Centre, Universiti Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia",
    "Institute for Advanced Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia",
    "Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 56100, Malaysia",
    "Division of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Campus C Mulyorejo, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, 60115, Indonesia"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Anis Suhaila Taufik"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nurul Aini Husin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Auni Atikah AbdulHalim"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "M. Haiqal Syarriman AbdulRahim"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Edley A. Jiliun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Mufasirin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Poedji Hastutiek"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Zubaidah Ya'cob"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/34qp7h05raydc.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101310",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13733455/",
  "id": "34qp7h05raydc",
  "issns": [
    "2213-2244"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101310",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223218671",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13733455",
  "pmid": "42985196",
  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/34qp7h05raydc.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:23:13Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13733455",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101310"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Molecular evidence of spotted fever group Rickettsia and Lyme disease– and relapsing fever–associated Borrelia, and the absence of scrub typhus-associated Orientia in ixodid ticks from contrasting habitats in Peninsular Malaysia",
  "title_text": "Molecular evidence of spotted fever group Rickettsia and Lyme disease– and relapsing fever–associated Borrelia, and the absence of scrub typhus-associated Orientia in ixodid ticks from contrasting habitats in Peninsular Malaysia",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:23:13Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/34qp7h05raydc",
  "venue": "International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife",
  "versions": []
}