Geographical Distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ticks Collected from Wild Rodents in the Republic of Korea

Lyme disease is a tick-borne zoonotic disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.) via transmission cycles involving competent tick vectors and vertebrate reservoirs. Here, we determined the prevalence and distribution of Borrelia genospecies in 738 ticks of at least three species from wild rodents in nine regions of the Republic of Korea (ROK). Ticks were analyzed using nested PCR targeting partial flagellin B gene sequences, followed by sequence analysis. The prevalence of Borrelia infection was 33.6%, and the most common genospecies were B. afzelii (62.5%), B. valaisiana (31.9%), B. yangtzensis (2.4%), B. garinii (1.6%), and B. tanukii (1.6%). Borrelia afzelii was found in all regions except Jeju Island; this predominant genospecies was found in the northern and central sampling regions. Borrelia valaisiana, B. yangtzensis, and B. tanukii were found only in the southern regions with B. valaisiana being the most common, whereas B. yangtzensis and B. tanukii were only found on Jeju Island. Our study is the first to describe the nationwide prevalence of B. burgdorferi s. l. in ticks from wild rodents in the ROK. Continuous surveillance in ticks, animals, humans, and different regions is required to avoid disease distribution and possible transmission to humans in the ROK.