국내 경주마에서 재발견된 가시귀진드기 (Arachnida: Ixodida: Argasidae)의 분자적 특성

초록

The spinose ear tick (Otobius megnini (Dugès)) (Acari: Ixodida: Argasidae) is distributed worldwide and has been associated with neuromuscular disorders in horses. In South Korea, the first case was reported in 1989 from a racehorse in Seoul. In this study, 47 specimens were collected from horses in Busan (2023) and Yongin (2024). Morphological and molecular analyses confirmed that all specimens belonged to O. megnini. Sequence analysis of the COX1 and 16S rRNA genes showed high similarity (99.5–100%) to O. megnini from foreign populations. All samples tested negative for Coxiella burnetii, Babesia spp., Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Borrelia spp., and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV). This study reports the re-emergence of O. megnini in South Korea, following its initial detection in 1989, and provides the first molecular characterization of this tick species in the country.

키워드