Detection and Characterization of the Emerging Relapsing Fever Pathogen, Borrelia miyamotoi, from the Ixodes ricinus Tick in the Rural Trakya (Thrace) Region of Northwestern Turkey

The hard tick-borne relapsing fever agent, Borrelia miyamotoi infection in Ixodes ricinus ticks sampled from Istanbul and the countryside of Kirklareli in northwestern Turkey, was examined by TaqMan-PCR targeting 16S rDNA, nested PCR targeting 16S rDNA, the flagellin gene (flaB), and the 16S and 23S rDNA intergenic spacer (IGS), and sequencing analyses of these amplicons. B. miyamotoi was detected in 1 out of 248 I. ricinus ticks (infection rate 0.4%). The tick infected with B. miyamotoi was collected in Longos, Kirklareli province on the European side of Turkey near the Bulgarian border. The 16S rDNA, flaB, and IGS sequences from the infected tick showed high similarities to those of B. miyamotoi detected in I. ricinus in Europe.