RESUMO
We examined the reservoir potential of white-tailed deer for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Results suggest that white-tailed deer harbor a variant strain not associated with human infection, but contrary to published reports, white-tailed deer are not a reservoir for strains that cause human disease. These results will affect surveillance studies of vector and reservoir populations.
Assuntos
Anaplasma phagocytophilum/isolamento & purificação , Cervos/microbiologia , Reservatórios de Doenças/microbiologia , Ehrlichiose/veterinária , Anaplasma phagocytophilum/classificação , Animais , Ehrlichiose/microbiologia , Humanos , Ixodes/microbiologia , MasculinoAssuntos
Anaplasma phagocytophilum/genética , Borrelia burgdorferi/genética , Ixodes/microbiologia , Anaplasma phagocytophilum/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Borrelia burgdorferi/isolamento & purificação , DNA Bacteriano/genética , Genótipo , Geografia , Pennsylvania , Reação em Cadeia da PolimeraseRESUMO
Ixodes scapularis ticks were collected in 2000 and 2001 from two areas in Pennsylvania and tested for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi by PCR and DNA sequencing. Of the ticks collected from northwestern and southeastern Pennsylvania, 162 of 263 (61.6%) and 25 of 191 (13.1%), respectively, were found to be positive for B. burgdorferi. DNA sequencing showed >99% identity with B. burgdorferi strains B31 and JD1. PCR testing for A. phagocytophilum revealed that 5 of 263 (1.9%) from northwestern Pennsylvania and 76 of 191 (39.8%) from southeastern Pennsylvania were positive. DNA sequencing revealed two genotypes of A. phagocytophilum, the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent and a variant (AP-Variant 1) that has not been associated with human infection. Although only the HGE agent was present in northwestern Pennsylvania, both genotypes were found in southeastern Pennsylvania. These data add to a growing body of evidence showing that AP-Variant 1 is the predominant agent in areas where both genotypes coexist.
