Detection of tick‐borne Anaplasma bovis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma centrale in Spain

Abstract

The genus Anaplasma (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) includes species of medical and veterinary importance. The presence of Anaplasma spp. in ticks from birds, as well as in Haemaphysalis punctata (Ixodida: Ixodidae) specimens collected from cattle and vegetation in northern Spain was investigated. A total of 336 ticks from birds [174 Ixodes frontalis (Ixodida: Ixodidae), 108 H. punctata, 34 Hyalomma marginatum (Ixodida: Ixodidae), 17 Ixodes ricinus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and three Ixodes spp.], and 181 H. punctata specimens collected from cattle (n = 71) and vegetation (n = 110) were analysed. Anaplasma bovis was detected in five H. punctata, including two from birds (1.9%) and three from vegetation (2.7%). Four I. frontalis (2.3%) (one co-infected with 'Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii') and one I. ricinus (5.9%) removed from birds, as well as four H. punctata (5.6%) collected from cattle showed Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection. In addition, Anaplasma centrale was found in two H. punctata, one from a cow (1.4%) and the other from vegetation (0.9%). This study represents the first evidence of the presence of A. bovis in European ticks, and reports the first detection of A. bovis and A. centrale in H. punctata, and the first finding of A. phagocytophilum and 'Ca. Midichloria mitochondrii' in I. frontalis.

Detection and phylogenetic characterisation of novel Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species in Amblyomma triguttatum subsp. from four allopatric populations in Australia

“…Anaplasma bovis is a well-documented bovine pathogen in Africa and Asia, and has been reported recently for the first time in Europe (Spain) (Palomar et al, 2015;Rar and Golovljova, 2011). Anaplasma bovis has been detected in a wide variety of wildlife species including deer (Kang et al, 2011;Kawahara et al, 2006;Palomar et al, 2015), goats (Ge et al, 2016), raccoons (Sashika et al, 2011), cotton-tailed rabbits (Goethert and Telford, 2003), wildcats (Tateno et al, 2013), and crab-eating macaques (Tay et al, 2015); however, to date, there is no evidence that A. bovis is zoonotic. Subclinical and asymptomatic infections are common, particularly in wildlife that have co-evolved with A. bovis (Kang et al, 2011;Kawahara et al, 2006;Tay et al, 2015).…”

“…Some species of fruit-eating bats have been documented flying between Indonesia and New Guinea, and New Guinea and Australia, and such migratory animals may have aided in the dispersal of infectious organisms across sea barriers (Breed et al, 2010). Anaplasma bovis has also been identified in ticks on migratory birds in Europe, which are thought to act as carriers of A. bovis over large geographic distances (Palomar et al, 2015). Assessment of the presence and genetic relatedness of A. bovis from islands in close proximity to Australia, such as Timor and New Guinea, would help to confirm this hypothesis.…”

First report of bovine anaemia associated Theileria sinensis infection and phylogenetic analyses of partial gene sequences of Theileria and Anaplasma species detected in naturally infected Malaysian cattle

“…Anaplasmosis is caused by Anaplasma marginale and A. centrale in cattle [18,19] and A. platys in dogs, ruminants and humans [20][21][22]. It is characterized by presence of intra-erythrocytic inclusion bodies, progressive anaemia which may or may not be immune-mediated [23].…”

Molecular survey and genetic characterization ofAnaplasma centrale,A. marginaleandA. bovisin cattle from Algeria

“…Bovine anaplasmosis is a tick‐borne rickettsial diseases caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum , A. marginale , A. centrale , A. bovis , A. ovis and A. platys (Palomar et al., ). All of these species are obligatory, intracellular, Gram‐negative bacteria and causing important diseases in animals and/or in humans (Dumler et al., ; Rar & Golovljova, ).…”