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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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

  • Anis Suhaila Taufik1,2
  • Nurul Aini Husin1,2
  • Auni Atikah AbdulHalim1,2
  • M. Haiqal Syarriman AbdulRahim1,2
  • Edley A. Jiliun3
  • Mufasirin4
  • Poedji Hastutiek4
  • Zubaidah Ya'cob1,4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Tropical Infectious Diseases Research & Education Centre, Universiti Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  2. 2Institute for Advanced Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
  3. 3Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 56100, Malaysia
  4. 4Division of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Campus C Mulyorejo, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, 60115, Indonesia
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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.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{taufik2026molecular,
  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}},
  author = {Anis Suhaila Taufik and Nurul Aini Husin and Auni Atikah AbdulHalim and M. Haiqal Syarriman AbdulRahim and Edley A. Jiliun and Mufasirin and Poedji Hastutiek and Zubaidah Ya'cob},
  journal = {International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101310},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101310},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - 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
AU  - Anis Suhaila Taufik
AU  - Nurul Aini Husin
AU  - Auni Atikah AbdulHalim
AU  - M. Haiqal Syarriman AbdulRahim
AU  - Edley A. Jiliun
AU  - Mufasirin
AU  - Poedji Hastutiek
AU  - Zubaidah Ya'cob
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/22
JO  - International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
DO  - 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101310
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101310
AB  - 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.
SN  - 2213-2244
ER  -