This scoping review reveals gaps in bacterial surveillance in Thai ticks, indicating the need for improved genomic monitoring to enhance zoonotic disease preparedness.
Key Points
To synthesize knowledge of tick-associated bacterial diversity and identify geographic and methodological gaps in Thailand's surveillance efforts.
Conducted literature searches in NCBI, Embase, and Web of Science.
Identified 402 studies, finally including 39 after applying inclusion criteria.
Collected ticks from various hosts across four zoogeographical regions in Thailand.
Analyzed the bacterial genera present using molecular detection methods.
Identified 18 genera of bacteria in ticks, with Rickettsia as the most frequently detected pathogen.
Rhipicephalus ticks showed the highest bacterial diversity among the studied genera.
Geographic analysis revealed under-representation in the Indo-Chinese Mainland and Korat Plateau regions.
Emphasized the need for standardised genomic surveillance as a key gap in current monitoring efforts.