Molecular detection of Bandavirus dabieense in ticks and their animal hosts collected from recreational forests in Selangor
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63719/imrj.2026.01(SE).04Keywords:
Nested one-step reverse transcription-PCR, Bandavirus dabieense, ticks, small mammalsAbstract
Bandavirus dabieense (BD) is the causative agent of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS). The primary vector of BD is Haemaphysalis longicornis, a hard tick species within the family Ixodidae. Despite the public health significance of SFTS in endemic regions, data on BD prevalence in Malaysia remain unavailable. This study aimed to detect BD in ticks collected from Selangor, Malaysia. Field sampling was conducted in two active recreational forests, where small mammals were trapped. Both on-host and questing ticks were collected and morphologically identified alongside their animal hosts. Total nucleic acid was extracted from all tick and animal samples. Molecular species identification of animal hosts and ticks was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by DNA sequencing. Detection of BD was carried out using nested reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) targeting S-gene. A total of nine animals were captured, comprising Sundamys muelleri (n = 4), Maxomys whiteheadi (n = 2), Rattus tiomanicus (n = 2), and Tupaia glis (n = 1). Additionally, 50 on-host ticks, and 16 questing ticks were collected. Among the on-host ticks, Ixodes granulatus was the most abundant species (n = 34), followed by Dermacentor tricuspis (n = 9), Haemaphysalis hystricis (n = 6), and Amblyomma spp. (n = 1). All questing ticks belonged to the Dermacentor genus. All tick and animal samples tested negative for BD. Although no evidence of BD circulation was detected, continuous surveillance with larger-scale sampling efforts is warranted to better assess the potential presence of BD in Malaysia.
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