“…Tick-borne infections are responsible for many emerging pathogenic bacterial diseases that significantly impact the health of humans and other vertebrates (13,40). These include spirochete infections, such as those caused by the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi, and rickettsial infections by the human monocytic ehrlichiosis agent, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the human granulocytic anaplasmosis agent, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and the bovine anaplasmosis agent, Anaplasma marginale (5,9,12,13,27).…”