NATURAL ANAPLASMA PHAGOCYTOPHILUM INFECTION OF TICKS AND RODENTS FROM A FOREST AREA OF JILIN PROVINCE, CHINA

WU-CHUN CAO Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by WU-CHUN CAO in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
LIN ZHAN Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by LIN ZHAN in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
JING HE Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by JING HE in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
JANET E. FOLEY Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by JANET E. FOLEY in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
SAKE J. DE VLAS Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by SAKE J. DE VLAS in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
XIAO-MING WU Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by XIAO-MING WU in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
HONG YANG Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by HONG YANG in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
JAN. H. RICHARDUS Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by JAN. H. RICHARDUS in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
J. DIK F. HABBEMA Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Search for other papers by J. DIK F. HABBEMA in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

Polymerase chain reaction integrated with sequence analysis was carried out to investigate the natural Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in ticks and rodents from a forest area of Jilin Province, China. Four (4.0%) of 100 Ixodes persulcatus and 2 (0.7%) of 286 Dermacentor silvarum ticks collected by flagging vegetation were positive. Nine (8.8%) of 102 rodents were infected, as well as 2 (2.8%) of 71 I. persulcatus parasitizing on 25 rodents. The nucleotide sequences of 1442-bp A. phagocytophilum 16S rRNA gene amplified from rodents and ticks were identical to each other and to that previously reported in Heilongjiang Province of China (GenBank accession no. AF205140), but different from those of other countries. The sequences of 357-bp partial citrate synthase gene from the above specimens were homologic, and varied from known A. phagocytophilum agents. These findings add new information on the ecologic features of A. phagocytophilum and indicate the threat of anaplasmosis in the area.

Author Notes

Reprint requests: Dr. Wu-Chun Cao, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, 20 Dong-Da Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, P. R. China, Telephone: (+86) 10-63896082, Fax: (+86) 10-63896082, E-mail: caowc@nic.bmi.ac.cn or caowc2000@yahoo.com.cn.
  • 1

    Dumler JS, Barbet AF, Bekker CP, Dasch GA, Palmer GH, Ray SC, Rikihisa Y, Rurangirwa FR, 2001. Reorganization of genera in the families Rickettsiaceae and Anaplasmataceae in the order Rickettsiales: unification of some species of Ehrlichia with Anaplasma, Cowdria with Ehrlichia and Ehrlichia with Neorickettsia, descriptions of six new species combinations and designation of Ehrlichia equi and “HGE agent” as subjective synonyms of Ehrlichia phagocytophila. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 51 :2145–2165.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 2

    Bakken JS, Dumler JS, Chen S-M, Eckman MR, Van Etta LL, Walker DH, 1994. Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in the upper midwest United States, a new species emerging? JAMA 272 :212–218.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 3

    Chen S-M, Dumler JS, Bakken JS, Walker DH, 1994. Identification of a granulocytotropic Ehrlichia species as the etiologic agent of human diseases. J Clin Microbiol 32 :589–595.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 4

    Walker DH, Dumler JS, 1996. Emergence of the ehrlichioses as human health problems. Emerg Infect Dis 2 :18–29.

  • 5

    Bakken JS, Krueth J, Wilson-Nordskog C, Tilden RL, Asanovich K, Dumler JS, 1996. Clinical and laboratory characteristics of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. JAMA 275 :199–205.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 6

    Bown KJ, Begon M, Bennett M, Woldehiwet Z, Ogden NH, 2003. Seasonal dynamics of Anaplasma phagocytophila in a rodenttick (Ixodes trianguliceps) system, United Kingdom. Emerg Infect Dis 9 :63–70.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 7

    Liz JS, Anderes L, Sumner JW, Massung RF, Gern L, Rutti B, Brossard M, 2000. PCR detection of granulocytic ehrlichiae in Ixodes ricinus ticks and wild small mammals in western Switzerland. J Clin Microbiol 38 :1002–1007.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 8

    Pancholi P, Kolbert CP, Mitchell PD, Reed KD Jr, Dumler JS, Bakken JS, Telford SR, Persing DH, 1995. Ixodes dammini as a potential vector of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. J Infect Dis 172 :1007–1012.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 9

    Polin H, Hufnagl P, Haunschmid R, Gruber F, Ladurner G, 2004. Molecular evidence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Ixodes ricinus ticks and wild animals in Austria. J Clin Microbiol 42 :2285–2286.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 10

    Telford SR, Dawson JE, Katavlos P, Warner CK, Kolbert CP, Persing DH, 1996. Perpetuation of the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in a deer tick-rodent cycle. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 93 :6209–6214.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 11

    Burkot TR, Maupin GO, Schneider BS, Denatale C, Happ CM, Rutherford JS, 2001. Use of a sentinel host system to study the questing behavior of Ixodes spinipalpis and its role in the transmission of Borrelia bissettii, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, and Babesia microti. Am J Trop Med Hyg 65 :293–299.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 12

    Richter PJ, Kimsey RB, Madigan JE, Barlough JE, Dumler JS, Brooks DL, 1996. Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) as a vector of Ehrlichia equi (Rickettsiales: Ehrlichieae). J Med Entomol 33 :1–5.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 13

    Ogden NH, Bown K, Horrocks BK, Woldehiwet Z, Bennett M, 1998. Granulocytic Ehrlichia infection in ixodid ticks and mammals in woodlands and uplands of the U.K. Med Vet Entomol 12 :423–429.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 14

    Cinco M, Padovan D, Murgia R, Maroli M, Frusteri L, Heldtander M, 1997. Coexistence of Ehrlichia phagocytophila and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks from Italy as determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. J Clin Microbiol 35 :3365–3366.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 15

    Guy E, Tasker S, Joynson DH, 1998. Detection of the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) in UK ticks using polymerase chain reaction. Epidemiol Infect 121 :681–683.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 16

    Oteo JA, Gil H, Barral M, Pérez A, Jimenez S, Blanco JR, 2001. Presence of granulocytic ehrlichia in ticks and serological evidence of human infection in La Rioja, Spain. Epidemiol Infect 127 :353–358.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 17

    Pusterla N, Leutenegger CM, Huder JB, Weber R, Braun U, Lutz H, 1999. Evidence of the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Switzerland. J Clin Microbiol 37 :1332–1334.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 18

    Schouls LM, Van de Pol I, Rijpkema SGT, Schot CS, 1999. Detection and identification of Ehrlichia, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Bartonella species in Dutch Ixodes ricinus ticks. J Clin Microbiol 37 :2215–2222.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 19

    Sarih M, Ghirbi YM, Bouattour A, Gern L, Baranton G, Postic D, 2005. Detection and identification of Ehrlichia spp. in ticks collected in Tunisia and Morocco. J Clin Microbiol 43 :1127–1132.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 20

    Alekseev AN, Dubinina HV, Van De Pol I, Schouls LM, 2001. Identification of Ehrlichia spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodes ticks in the Baltic regions of Russia. J Clin Microbiol 39 :2237–2242.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 21

    Cao WC, Zhao QM, Zhang PH, Dumler JS, Zhang XT, Fang LQ, Yang H, 2000. Granulocytic Ehrlichiae in Ixodes persulcatus ticks from an area in China where Lyme disease is endemic. J Clin Microbiol 38 :4208–4210.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 22

    Cao WC, Zhao QM, Zhang PH, Yang H, Wu XM, Wen BH, Zhang XT, Habbema JDF, 2003. Prevalence of Anplasma phagocytophila and Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodes persulcatus ticks from northeastern China. Am J Trop Med Hyg 68 :547–550.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 23

    Kim CM, Kim MS, Park MS, Park JH, Chae JS, 2003. Identification of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and A. bovis in Haemaphysalis longicornis and Ixodes persulcatus ticks from Korea. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 3 :17–26.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 24

    Ohashi N, Inayoshi M, Kitamura K, Kawamori F, Kawaguchi D, Nishimura Y, Naitou H, Hiroi M, Masuzawa T, 2005. Anaplasma phagocytophilum–infected ticks, Japan. Emerg Infect Dis 11 :1780–1783.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 25

    Inokuma H, Brouqui P, Drancourt M, Raoult D, 2001. Citrate synthase gene sequence: a new tool for phylogenetic analysis and identification of Ehrlichia. J Clin Microbiol 39 :3031–3039.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 26

    Wen B, Jian R, Zhang Y, Chen R, 2002. Simultaneous detection of Anaplasma marginale and a new Ehrlichia species closely related to Ehrlichia chaffeensis by sequence analyses of 16S ribosomal DNA in Boophilus microplus ticks from Tibet. J Clin Microbiol 40 :3286–3290.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 27

    Retief JD, 2000. Phylogenetic analysis using PHYLIP. Methods Mol Biol 132 :243–258.

  • 28

    Takada N, Fubito I, Fajita H, Wang H-P, Wang J-C, Masuzawa T, 1998. Lyme disease spirochetes in ticks from northeastern China. J Parasitol 84 :499–504.

  • 29

    Barlough JE, Madigan JE, Kramer VL, Clover JR, Hui LT, Webb JP, Vredevoe LK, 1997. Ehrlichia phagocytophila geno-group rickettsiae in ixodid ticks from California collected in 1995 and 1996. J Clin Microbiol 35 :2018–2021.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 30

    Von Stedingk LV, Gürtelschmid M, Hanson HS, Gustafson R, Dotevall L, Engvall EO, Granström M, 1997. The human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent in Swedish ticks. Clin Microbiol Infect 3 :573–574.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 31

    Sixl W, Petrovec M, Marth E, Wust G, Stunzner D, Schweiger R, 2003. Investigation of Anaplasma phagocytophila infections in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in Austria. Ann N Y Acad Sci 990 :94–97.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 32

    Holden K, Boothby JT, Anand S, Massung RF, 2003. Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from a coastal region of California. J Med Entomol 40 :534–539.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 33

    Goethert HK, Telford SR 3rd, 2003. Enzootic transmission of the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis among cottontail rabbits. Am J Trop Med Hyg 68 :633–637.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 34

    Walls JJ, Greig B, Neitzel DF, Dumler JS, 1997. Natural infection of small mammal species in Minnesota with the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. J Clin Microbiol 35 :853–855.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 35

    Yeh MT, Mather TN, Coughlin RT, Gingrich-Baker C, Sumner JW, Massung RF, 1997. Serologic and molecular detection of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Rhode Island. J Clin Microbiol 35 :944–947.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 36

    Nicholson WL, Muir S, Sumner JW, Childs JE, 1998. Serologic evidence of infection with Ehrlichia spp. in wild rodents (Muridae: Sigmodontinae) in the United States. J Clin Microbiol 36 :695–700.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 37

    Foley JE, Lerche NW, Dumler JS, Madigan JE, 1999. A simian model of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. Am J Trop Med Hyg 60 :987–993.

  • 38

    Bunnell JE, Trigiani ER, Srinivas SR, Dumler JS, 1999. Development and distribution of pathologic lesions are related to immune status and tissue deposition of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent-infected cells in a murine model system. J Infect Dis 180 :546–550.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
Past two years Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 356 322 43
Full Text Views 322 5 1
PDF Downloads 82 5 1
 
 
 
 
Affiliate Membership Banner
 
 
Research for Health Information Banner
 
 
CLOCKSS
 
 
 
Society Publishers Coalition Banner
Save