{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T21:21:22Z","timestamp":1792790482923,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,15]],"date-time":"2021-06-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1623715200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this study, we investigated the presence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks removed from tick-bitten humans in the southwestern provinces of the Republic of Korea (ROK). We identified 33 ticks from three tick species, namely<jats:italic>Amblyomma testudinarium<\/jats:italic>(60.6%),<jats:italic>Haemaphysalis longicornis<\/jats:italic>(27.3%), and<jats:italic>Ixodes nipponensis<\/jats:italic>(12.1%) in order of occurrence via morphology and 16S rDNA-targeting polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Tick-borne pathogens were detected in 16 ticks using pathogen-specific PCR. From the results, 12 ticks (36.4%) tested positive for spotted fever group (SFG)<jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic>:<jats:italic>Rickettsia monacensis<\/jats:italic>(1\/12),<jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>tamurae<\/jats:italic>(8\/12), and<jats:italic>Candidatus<\/jats:italic>Rickettsia jingxinensis (3\/12). Three ticks (9.1%) were positive for<jats:italic>Anaplasma phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>. In addition, three ticks (9.1%) tested positive for<jats:italic>Babesia gibsoni<\/jats:italic>(1\/3) and<jats:italic>B<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>microti<\/jats:italic>(2\/3). In conclusion, we identified three tick species; the most common species was<jats:italic>A<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>testudinarium<\/jats:italic>, followed by<jats:italic>H<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>longicornis<\/jats:italic>and<jats:italic>I<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>nipponensis<\/jats:italic>. SFG<jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic>,<jats:italic>A<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>, and<jats:italic>Babesia<\/jats:italic>spp. were the most frequently detected pathogens in ticks removed from tick-bitten humans. To our knowledge, this is the first report of<jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>.<jats:italic>tamurae<\/jats:italic>and<jats:italic>Ca<\/jats:italic>. R. jingxinensis detection in Korea. The present results will contribute to the understanding of tick-borne infections in animals and humans in the ROK.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0252992","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,15]],"date-time":"2021-06-15T17:24:24Z","timestamp":1623777864000},"page":"e0252992","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":23,"title":["Molecular investigation of tick-borne pathogens in ticks removed from tick-bitten humans in the southwestern region of the Republic of Korea"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Mi Seon","family":"Bang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Choon-Mee","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sang-Hyun","family":"Pyun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6373-0922","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dong-Min","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Na Ra","family":"Yun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0252992.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2017.00114","article-title":"Tick-Pathogen Interactions and Vector Competence: Identification of Molecular Drivers for 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