PCR-Based Survey ofAnaplasma phagocytophilumin Portuguese Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)
- 1 February 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
- Vol. 9 (1), 33-40
- https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2008.0051
Abstract
A total of two-thousand and six ticks, collected from 2002 to 2006 in areas belonging to seven districts of Mainland Portugal and also in Madeira Island, were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Active infections were detected exclusively in Ixodes species, including six questing I. ricinus nymphs from Madeira Island, one questing I. ventalloi nymph from Setúbal District, and two I. ventalloi adults found parasitizing domestic cats in both Setúbal and Santarém District. These findings confirm prior observations and suggest the persistence of A. phagocytophilum on Madeira Island. Moreover, it adds I. ventalloi and domestic cats to the list of potential elements of the agent's enzootic cycles in Portugal. Molecular analysis of PCR amplicons suggests the existence of two A. phagocytophilum genotypes in Portugal, one of which is identical or very similar to North American strains implicated in human disease.Keywords
This publication has 34 references indexed in Scilit:
- Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with human granulocytic anaplasmosis in SloveniaWiener klinische Wochenschrift, 2006
- Coinfections Acquired from Ixodes TicksClinical Microbiology Reviews, 2006
- Ticks Parasitizing Wild Birds in Portugal: Detection of Rickettsia aeschlimannii, R. helvetica and R. massiliaeExperimental and Applied Acarology, 2006
- Anaplasma and Ehrlichia InfectionAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2005
- Detection and Identification of Ehrlichia spp. in Ticks Collected in Tunisia and MoroccoJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2005
- CXCR2 Blockade InfluencesAnaplasma phagocytophilumPropagation but Not Histopathology in the Mouse Model of Human Granulocytic AnaplasmosisClinical and Vaccine Immunology, 2004
- Detection ofBorrelia burgdorferi,Ehrlichia chaffeensis, andAnaplasma phagocytophilumin Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from a Coastal Region of CaliforniaJournal of Medical Entomology, 2003
- Genetic Variability and Stability of Anaplasma phagocytophila msp2 ( p44 )Infection and Immunity, 2002
- Molecular Detection of Ehrlichia phagocytophila Genogroup Organisms in Larvae of Neotrombicula autumnalis (Acari: Trombiculidae) Captured in SpainJournal of Parasitology, 2001
- Ehrlichia-Infected Ticks on Migrating BirdsEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2001