Molecular detection and characterization of vector-borne agents in common opossums (Didelphis marsupialis) from northeastern Brazil

Braga, Maria do Socorro Costa Oliveira; Costa, Francisco Borges; Calchi, Ana Cláudia; Mello, Victória Valente Califre de; Mongruel, Anna Cláudia Baumel; Dias, Clara Morato; Bassini‐Silva, Ricardo; Silva, Ellainy Maria Conceição; Pereira, José Gomes; Santos, Larissa Sarmento dos; Costa, Andréa Pereira da; Andrade, Fábio Henrique Evangelista de; Silva, Ana Lúcia Abreu; Machado, Rosangela Zacarias; André, Marcos Rogério

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106955

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 88 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Neither E. chaffeensis nor A. phagocytophilum were observed, although they are the two most widespread human pathogens of their genera 2 – 5 . The diversity and endemicity of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma genovariants in French Guiana, as well as in the northern rainforests of Brazil 21 , 41 , suggest that the health hazard is unique in the Amazon biome. The recent detection of additional genovariants in the Cerrado biome 21 , 36 – 40 , a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, further underscores the distinctiveness of South America in the context of tick-borne diseases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia bacteria in humans, wildlife, and ticks in the Amazon rainforest

Buysse,

Koual,

Binetruy

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tick-borne bacteria of the genera Ehrlichia and Anaplasma cause several emerging human infectious diseases worldwide. In this study, we conduct an extensive survey for Ehrlichia and Anaplasma infections in the rainforests of the Amazon biome of French Guiana. Through molecular genetics and metagenomics reconstruction, we observe a high indigenous biodiversity of infections circulating among humans, wildlife, and ticks inhabiting these ecosystems. Molecular typing identifies these infections as highly endemic, with a majority of new strains and putative species specific to French Guiana. They are detected in unusual rainforest wild animals, suggesting they have distinctive sylvatic transmission cycles. They also present potential health hazards, as revealed by the detection of Candidatus Anaplasma sparouinense in human red blood cells and that of a new close relative of the human pathogen Ehrlichia ewingii, Candidatus Ehrlichia cajennense, in the tick species that most frequently bite humans in South America. The genome assembly of three new putative species obtained from human, sloth, and tick metagenomes further reveals the presence of major homologs of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma virulence factors. These observations converge to classify health hazards associated with Ehrlichia and Anaplasma infections in the Amazon biome as distinct from those in the Northern Hemisphere.

show abstract