2026-10-14T08:08:37Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33672598 2026-09-12T17:04:16Z category_7 category_8 category_12 category_14 category_19 category_21 category_272 category_39 category_46 category_734 category_132 category_133 category_134 category_135 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Establishment and application of a multiplex qPCR panel for multi-host surveillance of tick-Borne pathogens Jing Li (10611) Zhen Wang (72451) Xinting Meng (24836146) Jiaxun Zhang (8526405) Wenjin Mao (24836149) Yan Hai (5693126) Ying Zhang (40767) Xiangxiang Sun (3813205) Jin Che (3615470) Xiaofang Ma (829740) Biao Duan (3491225) Aiping Qin (65297) Jie Liu (15128) Medicine Microbiology Cell Biology Molecular Biology Pharmacology Biotechnology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Immunology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Infectious Diseases Plant Biology Virology Computational Biology Multiplex qPCR tick-borne pathogen epidemiological surveillance acute febrile illness molecular diagnosis <p>Tick-borne diseases pose significant public health threats. Non-specific symptoms and co-infections present diagnostic challenges for conventional methods. To address this, we developed the tick-borne pathogen (TBP) Panel, utilizing eight separate multiplex qPCR assays to simultaneously detect 25 TBPs (7 bacteria, 14 viruses, 4 parasites). Optimal Quantification Cycle (Cq) cut-offs were established using nested/semi-nested PCR amplicon sequencing, and digital PCR as reference standards. The Panel was then deployed for screening 2,333 ticks, 59 rodents, and 553 febrile patients. The Panel demonstrated robust analytical performance, achieving limits of detection (LOD_99%) being 3.5–131 copies/reaction of plasmid, 10²–10³ copies/mL of blood and 10³–10⁴ copies/tick pool. This study established a tiered determination framework (Cq ≤ 36.6 as positive; Cq 36.6–39.6 requiring dual-replicate confirmation), yielding an overall AUC of 0.979, with 96.5% sensitivity and 96.5% specificity. Screening revealed a diverse pathogen landscape, identifying a total of 14 pathogens in 16.9% of the ticks (395/2,333), revealing a diverse geographical distribution. Five pathogens were identified in 7.9% of AFI patients (25/317), including Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV) and <i>Ehrlichia</i> spp., which were found circulating in local ticks. In the FUO cohort, a single case of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. was identified. Rodent surveillance identified four pathogens, predominantly <i>Bartonella</i> spp. (67.8%). In conclusion , the rigorously validated TBP Panel enables rapid etiological identification of undifferentiated febrile illnesses, serving as a high-throughput tool that bridges large-scale surveillance with clinical diagnostics to close critical gaps in tick-borne disease management.</p> 2026-09-12T17:04:16Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33672598.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Establishment_and_application_of_a_multiplex_qPCR_panel_for_multi-host_surveillance_of_tick-Borne_pathogens/33672598 CC BY 4.0