Real time PCR identification of Ixodes holocyclus from imported cats and associated health risks

Description

Ayman Albanna and Omar A Al-Mahmood report, in a 2026 study, a molecular method for confirming the paralysis tick Ixodes holocyclus on imported cats. Ticks ferry bacterial, viral, and protozoan diseases between animals and people, and imported pets can smuggle them across borders. The team examined 100 imported domestic cats presented for checkups. They identified ticks by microscope morphology, then confirmed species with conventional and real-time PCR aimed at tick gene markers, sequencing the positives for a family tree.

Eighteen cats carried ticks matching the species morphologically. Molecular testing confirmed all, with the real-time assay returning cycle values and single-peak melt curves across two genes. The researchers report complete specificity. Sequencing sorted the eighteen isolates into four clusters, the largest hugging a known reference isolate. The authors warn that cats can carry this tick into homes and new environments, making quick confirmation at import points a health safeguard.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13314169