Members from Rickettsiales such as Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and some spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsiae are important tick-borne pathogens. One hundred goats and sheep from southeastern China were examined for the presence of Anaplasma, E. chaffeensis, and SFG Rickettsiae by PCR. A. phagocytophilum, Anaplasma bovis, and Anaplasma centrale were detected in 15, 49, and 16 samples, respectively. The A. phagocytophilum and A. centrale were highly homologous to strains from Japanese sika deer and Japanese cattle, respectively, whereas a diversity of A. bovis sequences were detected. New genetic variants of Anaplasma close to A. centrale have been revealed. No Ehrlichia was detected in this study. The presence of SFG Rickettsiae was determined in 26 samples. The coinfection with more than two pathogens tested in this study was as high as 29%. This study has molecularly characterized the circulation of Anaplasma and Rickettsiae in goats and sheep in southeastern China, which highlights the risk of contracting the pathogens upon tick exposure.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Botelho-NeversE, SocolovschiC, RaoultD, ParolaP. Treatment of Rickettsia spp. infections: a review. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther, 2012; 10:1425–1437.
2.
CaoWC, ZhanL, HeJ, FoleyJE, et al.Natural Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection of ticks and rodents from a forest area of Jilin Province, China. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2006; 75:664–668.
3.
ChoiYJ, JangWJ, RyuJS, LeeSH, et al.Spotted fever group and typhus group rickettsioses in humans, South Korea. Emerg Infect Dis, 2005; 11:237–244.
4.
DawsonJE, StallknechtDE, HowerthEW, WarnerC, et al.Susceptibility of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the etiologic agent of human ehrlichiosis. J Clin Microbiol, 1994; 32:2725–2728.
5.
DongT, QuZ, ZhangL. Detection of A. phagocytophilum and E. chaffeensis in patient and mouse blood and ticks by a duplex real-time PCR assay. PLoS One, 2013; 8:e74796.
6.
Dunning HotoppJC, LinM, MadupuR, CrabtreeJ, et al.Comparative genomics of emerging human ehrlichiosis agents. PLoS Genet, 2006; 2:e21.
7.
EllisonDW, ClarkTR, SturdevantDE, VirtanevaK, et al.Genomic comparison of virulent Rickettsia rickettsii Sheila Smith and avirulent Rickettsia rickettsii Iowa. Infect Immun, 2008; 76:542–550.
8.
FanMY, WangJG, JiangYX, ZongDG, et al.Isolation of a spotted fever group Rickettsia from a patient and related ecologic investigations in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. J Clin Microbiol, 1987; 25:628–632.
9.
GeY, PanW, YinH. Prevalence of Theileria infections in goats and sheep in southeastern China. Vet Parasitol, 2012; 186:466–469.
10.
GilmoreRDJr., JosteN, McDonaldGA. Cloning, expression and sequence analysis of the gene encoding the 120 kD surface-exposed protein of Rickettsia rickettsii. Mol Microbiol, 1989; 3:1579–1586.
11.
InokumaH, TeradaY, KamioT, RaoultD, et al.Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of Anaplasma centrale and its phylogenetic relatedness to other ehrlichiae. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol, 2001; 8:241–244.
12.
InokumaH, FujiiK, OkudaM, OnishiT, et al.Determination of the nucleotide sequences of heat shock operon groESL and the citrate synthase gene (gltA) of Anaplasma (Ehrlichia) platys for phylogenetic and diagnostic studies. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol, 2002; 9:1132–1136.
13.
InokumaH, OyamadaM, KellyPJ, JacobsonLA, et al.Molecular detection of a new Anaplasma species closely related to Anaplasma phagocytophilum in canine blood from South Africa. J Clin Microbiol, 2005; 43:2934–2937.
14.
IsmailN, BlochKC, McBrideJW. Human ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Clin Lab Med, 2010; 30:261–292.
15.
KangJG, KoS, KimYJ, YangHJ, et al.New genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma bovis from Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus). Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis, 2011; 11:929–938.
16.
KawaharaM, RikihisaY, LinQ, IsogaiE, et al.Novel genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Anaplasma bovis, Anaplasma centrale, and a novel Ehrlichia sp. in wild deer and ticks on two major islands in Japan. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2006; 72:1102–1109.
17.
KimCM, YiYH, YuDH, LeeMJ, et al.Tick-borne rickettsial pathogens in ticks and small mammals in Korea. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2006; 72:5766–5776.
18.
LiW, LiuL, JiangX, GuoX, et al.Molecular identification of spotted fever group Rickettsiae in ticks collected in central China. Clin Microbiol Infect, 2009; 15Suppl 2:279–280.
19.
LiangCW, ZhaoJB, LiJ, ChangLT, et al.Spotted fever group Rickettsia in Yunnan Province, China. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis, 2012; 12:281–286.
20.
LiuZ, MaM, WangZ, WangJ, et al.Molecular survey and genetic identification of Anaplasma species in goats from central and southern China. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2012; 78:464–470.
21.
OgataH, AudicS, BarbeV, ArtiguenaveF, et al.Selfish DNA in protein-coding genes of Rickettsia. Science, 2000; 290:347–350.
22.
OoshiroM, ZakimiS, MatsukawaY, KatagiriY, et al.Detection of Anaplasma bovis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum from cattle on Yonaguni Island, Okinawa, Japan. Vet Parasitol, 2008; 154:360–364.
23.
PalomarAM, SantibanezP, MazuelasD, RonceroL, et al.Role of birds in dispersal of etiologic agents of tick-borne zoonoses, Spain, 2009. Emerg Infect Dis, 2012; 18:1188–1191.
24.
RouxV, RaoultD. Phylogenetic analysis of members of the genus Rickettsia using the gene encoding the outer-membrane protein rOmpB (ompB). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, 2000; 50Pt 4:1449–1455.
25.
SashikaM, AbeG, MatsumotoK, InokumaH. Molecular survey of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia infections of feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Hokkaido, Japan. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis, 2011; 11:349–354.
26.
StenosJ, WalkerDH. The rickettsial outer-membrane protein A and B genes of Rickettsia australis, the most divergent Rickettsia of the spotted fever group. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, 2000; 50Pt 5:1775–1779.
27.
StromdahlEY, JiangJ, VinceM, RichardsAL. Infrequency of Rickettsia rickettsii in Dermacentor variabilis removed from humans, with comments on the role of other human-biting ticks associated with spotted fever group Rickettsiae in the United States. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis, 2011; 11:969–977.
28.
StuenS, GranquistEG, SilaghiC. Anaplasma phagocytophilum—a widespread multi-host pathogen with highly adaptive strategies. Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 2013; 3:31.
29.
SuksawatJ, XuejieY, HancockSI, HegartyBC, et al.Serologic and molecular evidence of coinfection with multiple vector-borne pathogens in dogs from Thailand. J Vet Intern Med, 2001; 15:453–462.
30.
TianZC, LiuGY, ShenH, XieJR, et al.First report on the occurrence of Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii in Dermacentor silvarum in China. Parasit Vectors, 2012; 5:19.
31.
UchidaT, MaharaF, TsuboiY, OyaA. Spotted fever group rickettsiosis in Japan. Jpn J Med Sci Biol, 1985; 38:151–153.
32.
WangJG, WalkerDH. Identification of spotted fever group Rickettsiae from human and tick sources in the People's Republic of China. J Infect Dis, 1987; 156:665–669.
33.
WarnerC, DawsonJE. Genus- and species-level identification of Ehrlichia species by PCR and sequencing. In: PersingDH, ed., ASM Press. PCR Protocols for Emerging Infectious Diseases, 1996:100–105.
34.
WenB, CaoW, PanH. Ehrlichiae and ehrlichial diseases in china. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 2003; 990:45–53.
35.
YbanezAP, MatsumotoK, KishimotoT, InokumaH. Molecular analyses of a potentially novel Anaplasma species closely related to Anaplasma phagocytophilum detected in sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) in Japan. Vet Microbiol, 2012; 157:232–236.
36.
YuX, JinY, FanM, XuG, et al.Genotypic and antigenic identification of two new strains of spotted fever group Rickettsiae isolated from China. J Clin Microbiol, 1993; 31:83–88.
37.
ZhanL, CaoWC, de VlasS, XieSY, et al.A newly discovered Anaplasma phagocytophilum variant in rodents from southeastern China. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis, 2008; 8:369–380.
38.
ZhanL, ChuCY, ZuoSQ, WuXM, et al.Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi in rabbits from southeastern China. Vet Parasitol, 2009; 162:354–356.
39.
ZhangL, LiuY, NiD, LiQ, et al.Nosocomial transmission of human granulocytic anaplasmosis in China. JAMA, 2008; 300:2263–2270.
40.
ZhouZ, NieK, TangC, WangZ, et al.Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Anaplasma in Southwestern China based on 16S rRNA sequence. Res Vet Sci, 2010; 89:262–265.
41.
ZouY, WangQ, FuZ, LiuP, et al.Detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia in Haemaphysalis longicornis from Hebei Province, China. J Parasitol, 2011; 97:960–962.
