Molecular Detection of<i>Ehrlichia chaffeensis</i>in Humans, Costa Rica

Rojas, Norman; Castillo, Del; Marin, Priscilla

doi:10.3201/eid2103.131759

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This could be an indication that the 16S rRNA gene of E. canis strains in Nigeria is more polymorphic than those reported elsewhere and this may have potential implications on the clinical outcome and management of canine ehrlichiosis in Nigeria. Generally, E. canis (Dawson et al, 1993;Unver et al, 2001;Perez et al, 2006), E. chaffeensis (Dawson et al, 1993;Chen et al, 1997;Rojas et al, 2015) and E. ewingii (Buller et al, 1999;Allen et al, 2014) have been reported in human ehrlichiosis around the world but not in Nigeria. This does not necessarily preclude the presence of ehrlichial infection in humans in Nigeria and, as such, the screening for such parasites should be considered in human febrile conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and molecular characterisation of Ehrlichia canis in naturally infected dogs in South West Nigeria

Daramola

Takeet

Oyewusi

et al. 2018

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica

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Canine ehrlichiosis is an important tick-borne rickettsial disease mainly caused by Ehrlichia canis. This study aimed to detect and characterise E. canis in dogs in Abeokuta, Nigeria by microscopy and nested PCR. Blood samples were collected from 205 dogs, thin smears were made, field-stained, and DNA was extracted from the blood samples. A partial region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced unidirectionally. Ehrlichial morulae were detected in three dogs (1.5%). The PCR test revealed that 47 dogs (22.9%) were positive for E. canis. The lengths of the sequences obtained range from 374 bp to 376 bp with an average G-C content of 37% and 98-99% homology with the reference sequences in GenBank. The aligned autochthonous sequences were less polymorphic. The phylogenetic analysis separated sequences reported previously in Nigeria from the autochthonous sequences. The present work shows that the strain of E. canis detected in the study area is genetically different from those reported in the northern part of Nigeria and more closely related to sequences from Brazil and India.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and molecular characterisation of Ehrlichia canis in naturally infected dogs in South West Nigeria

Daramola

Takeet

Oyewusi

et al. 2018

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica

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“…In contrast, E. chaffeensis and E. ewingii , which possess higher zoonotic potential, were not detected in the present study, nor in the mentioned blood donor study (37). E. chaffeensis DNA was isolated from symptomatic human patients in Costa Rica (38), but the pathogen has neither been found in dogs nor in ticks in Central America so far.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence and Current Infections of Canine Vector-Borne Diseases in Costa Rica

et al. 2019

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Domestic dogs may carry several vector-borne pathogens, including zoonotic agents, especially in tropical regions like Central America. The epidemiology of these pathogens is prone to change due to urbanization, trade and travel as well as climate change, necessitating repeated monitoring. This study aims to present a comprehensive picture of canine vector-borne diseases in Costa Rica, combining data on seroprevalence with molecular species identification of the causative pathogens. In this survey, 294 dogs from all seven provinces of Costa Rica were included. After a clinical examination, diagnostic blood samples were analyzed with regard to packed cell volume (PCV) and presence of microfilaria. Serum samples were tested for antibodies against Ehrlichia spp., Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) as well as antigen of Dirofilaria immitis . Seropositive and microfilaremic blood samples were analyzed by PCR to detect current infections and identify the pathogen species. Overall, 45.24% (133/294, 95% CI: 39.45–51.11%) of dogs were seropositive for at least one of the tested pathogens. Seroprevalence was highest for Ehrlichia spp. (39.46%, 116/294, 95% CI: 33.83–45.29%), followed by Babesia spp. (23.13%, 68/294, 95% CI: 18.43–28.38%), Anaplasma spp. (13.27%, 39/294, 95% CI: 9.61–17.69%), and B. burgdorferi s.l. (0.34%, 1/294, 95% CI: 0.01–1.88%). Generalized linear mixed models indicated a significant association of Ehrlichia -, Anaplasma - and Babesia -seropositivity, as well as a significant effect of age and breed on Ehrlichia -seropositivity. Furthermore, a statistically significant negative effect of Ehrlichia -, Anaplasma -, and Babesia -seropositivity on PCV was found. Regarding current infections, Ehrlichia canis DNA was detected in 51.72% (60/116, 95% CI: 42.26–61.10%) of Ehrlichia -seropositive dogs, while Ehrlichia ewingii and Ehrlichia chaffeensis were not detected. Furthermore, 10.26% (4/39, 95% CI: 2.87–24.22%) of Anaplasma -seropositive dogs were coinfected with Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma platys , while one animal (2.56%, 95% CI: 0.65–13.48%) was infected with A. phagocytophilum only. Among Babesia -seropositive dogs, Babesia vogeli and Hepatozoon canis were detected in one animal each (1.47%, 1/68, 95% CI: 0.04–7.92%). Dirofilaria immitis antigen was detected in 4.42% (13/294, 95% CI: 2.38–7.44%) of dogs. In microfilare...

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“…Similarly to previous studies with canine or tick samples from Costa Rica (Barrantes-González et al, 2016;Campos-Calderón et al, 2016;Dolz et al, 2015;Rojas et al, 2014;Romero et al, 2011), we did not detect E. chaffeensis or E. ewingii DNA. While there is a single report of molecular diagnosis of E. chaffeensis in human patients in the Northern zone of Costa Rica (Rojas et al, 2015), our results indicate E. canis as the most prevalent Ehrlichia species infecting humans in the Country, similarly to the reports on animals (Barrantes-González et al, 2016;Campos-Calderón et al, 2016;Dolz et al, 2015;Meneses, 1995;Rojas et al, 2014;Romero et al, 2011). Human infection by E. canis in the present study was confirmed by molecular analysis of genes encoding two different proteins; dsb a conservative protein that has been used to distinguish different species of Ehrlichia, and TRP36, a major immunoreactive protein useful for genotyping E. canis strains based on differences in tandem repeat number or sequences (Aguiar et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the past, four clinical cases of ehrlichiosis were reported in humans in Costa Rica, based on clinical evaluation and microscopic detection of intracytoplasmic inclusions in granulocytes (Hernández de Mezerville and Padilla-Cuadra, 2007;Rojas-Solano and Villalobos-Vindas, 2007) and monocytes (Brenes et al, 2011) in peripheral blood. Recently, Rojas et al (2015) reported human natural infection by E. chaffeensis in patients in the Northern region of Costa Rica. In the present work, we present evidence of Ehrlichia infection in blood bank donors, including the first report of a novel genotype of E. canis associated with humans in Costa Rica.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel genotype of Ehrlichia canis detected in samples of human blood bank donors in Costa Rica

Bouza-Mora

Dolz

Morales

et al. 2017

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

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This study focuses on the detection and identification of DNA and antibodies to Ehrlichia spp. in samples of blood bank donors in Costa Rica using molecular and serological techniques. Presence of Ehrlichia canis was determined in 10 (3.6%) out of 280 blood samples using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the ehrlichial dsb conserved gene. Analysis of the ehrlichial trp36 polymorphic gene in these 10 samples revealed substantial polymorphism among the E. canis genotypes, including divergent tandem repeat sequences. Nucleotide sequences of dsb and trp36 amplicons revealed a novel genotype of E. canis in blood bank donors from Costa Rica. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) detected antibodies in 35 (35%) of 100 serum samples evaluated. Thirty samples showed low endpoint titers (64-256) to E. canis, whereas five sera yielded high endpoint titers (1024-8192); these five samples were also E. canis-PCR positive. These findings represent the first report of the presence of E. canis in humans in Central America.

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Molecular Detection ofEhrlichia chaffeensisin Humans, Costa Rica

Cited by 11 publications

References 7 publications

Detection and molecular characterisation of Ehrlichia canis in naturally infected dogs in South West Nigeria

Detection and molecular characterisation of Ehrlichia canis in naturally infected dogs in South West Nigeria

Seroprevalence and Current Infections of Canine Vector-Borne Diseases in Costa Rica

Novel genotype of Ehrlichia canis detected in samples of human blood bank donors in Costa Rica

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