DETECTION OF CAUSATIVE AGENTS OF TICK-BORNE INFECTIONS BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION ASSAY CARRIED OUT AS A PART OF CLINICAL STUDIES IN THE “REPUBLICAN CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL” OF ULAN-UDE

The article is devoted to the study of vector-borne pathogens circulating in the Republic of Buryatia. The authors have carried out  identification of the genetic material of tick-borne encephalitis virus,  Borrellia burgdorferi, Borrellia miуamotoi, Coxiella burnetii and  Rickettsia sibirica in various samples of biological material. The  object of the study were whole blood, leukocyte fraction and blood  serum of patients admitted to the hospital in a state of fever that  occurred after sucking of the tick, as well as mites brought by the  population. A detailed analysis of the data showed that 11.7 % (9  out of 70) of the clinical material samples and 17.8 % (50 out of  281) of the tick samples had genetic markers of tick-borne  pathogens. In the material from the patients, the RNA of tick-borne  encephalitis virus was most often determined, and in the DNA of  Borrellia burgdorferi mites. In addition, the authors first confirmed  the etiologic role of Borrellia miуamotoi in the development of cases  of Lyme disease in the Republic. An unexpected finding was the  detection of Coxiella burnetii DNA in ticks and in clinical material. In  the Republic of Buryatia Q-fever was detected by laboratory  diagnostics for the first time. This fact confirms the circulation of this pathogen in the region. In this regard, the authors conducted a  retrospective analysis of the medical histories of patients who were found to have genetic markers of Q-fever