Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Infect Dis. Aug 25, 2015; 5(3): 51-54
Published online Aug 25, 2015. doi: 10.5495/wjcid.v5.i3.51
New tools, new tick-borne diseases?
Aránzazu Portillo, José A Oteo
Aránzazu Portillo, José A Oteo, Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital San Pedro-Center for Biomedical Research from La Rioja (CIBIR), Center of Rickettsioses and Arthropod-Borne Diseases, 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
Author contributions: Portillo A and Oteo JA contributed to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: José A Oteo, MD, PhD, Head of the Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital San Pedro-Center for Biomedical Research from La Rioja (CIBIR), Center of Rickettsioses and Arthropod-Borne Diseases, C/Piqueras, 98, 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. jaoteo@riojasalud.es
Telephone: +34-941-278871 Fax: +34-941-298667
Received: February 8, 2015
Peer-review started: February 9, 2015
First decision: March 6, 2015
Revised: March 17, 2015
Accepted: July 29, 2015
Article in press: August 3, 2015
Published online: August 25, 2015
Processing time: 199 Days and 0.4 Hours
Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a major public health concern that has increased in the past three decades. Nevertheless, emerging or reemerging TBDs may be still misdiagnosed. Molecular biology techniques for the screening of ticks, use of “Omics” approaches and the incorporation of analytical methods such as mass spectrometry or nuclear magnetic resonance, to the study of ticks and their associated pathogens or potential pathogens are promising tools for a more accurate differential diagnosis of TBDs. However, this huge amount of data needs to be carefully interpreted before being incorporated to the routine of clinical practice. In the meantime, a clinical approach and high level of suspicion keep being essential for the diagnosis and proper handling of TBDs.

Keywords: Ticks; Tick-borne diseases; Tick-borne pathogens; Molecular biology tools; DNA-arrays; “Omics” approaches; Analytical tools; Mass spectrometry; Nuclear magnetic resonance

Core tip: Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a major public health concern that has increased in the past three decades. Molecular biology techniques for the screening of ticks, use of “Omics” approaches and the incorporation of analytical methods to the study of ticks and their associated microorganisms are promising tools for a more accurate differential diagnosis of TBDs. Nevertheless, a clinical approach and high level of suspicion remain essential for the diagnosis and proper handling of TBDs before the incorporation of these innovative technologies to the routine in clinical practice.