Molecular detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in wild carnivores in north-eastern Poland

Abstract

Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligate parasitic intracellular bacterium. It is the causative agent of granulocytic anaplasmosis, with effects on human and animal health. In Europe, the pathogen is mainly transmitted among a wide range of vertebrate hosts by blood-sucking arthropods. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of A. phagocytophilum in wild carnivores, viz raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), badgers (Meles meles), foxes (Vulpes vulpes), martens (Martes sp.) and European polecats (Mustela putorius), using molecular methods. Methods: In the present study, 174 spleen samples were collected from adult, wild carnivores hunted in the years 2013-2016. A short fragment (383 bp) of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene partial sequence was used as a marker to identify A. phagocytophilum in spleen samples collected from carnivores using nested PCR. Results: The prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in wild carnivores was 31.61% (55/174). Seven sequences of A. phagocytophilum were generated from two raccoon dogs, two badgers, one marten, one red fox and one European polecat. Six identical nucleotide sequences were obtained from one raccoon dog, two badgers, one marten, one red fox and one European polecat (A. phagocytophilum sequences 1: MH328205-MH328209, MH328211), and these were identical to many A. phagocytophilum sequences in the GenBank database (100% similarity). The second sequence (A. phagocytophilum sequence 2: MH328210) obtained from the raccoon dog shared 99.74% identity with A. phagocytophilum sequence 1. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to use molecular methods to determine the presence of A. phagocytophilum in wild carnivores, viz raccoon dog, badger, marten and European polecat, in Poland. The detected A. phagocytophilum sequences (1 and 2) were closely related with those of A. phagocytophilum occurring in a wide range of wild and domestic animals and vectors.

The Occurrence of Zoonotic Anaplasma phagocytophilum Strains, in the Spleen and Liver of Wild Boars from North-West and Central Parts of Poland

“…The presence of increased numbers of vectors in an environment enables a faster spread of A. phagocytophilum among hosts. A similar correlation between geographic distribution and an increase in host prevalence has been shown by Szewczyk et al [12].…”

“…Anaplasma spp. was then detected using semi-nested PCR to amplify the partial 16S rRNA gene with primers specific to Anaplasma genus according to Szewczyk et al (2019) [12]. Positive samples for A. phagocytophilum were additionally tested for the presence of the partial groEL and ankA genes with nested PCR according to Alberti el al.…”

Molecular detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in eastern Poland

“…Long-term bacteremia makes the deer a competent reservoir of Rickettsia and contributes to the circulation of the pathogen in nature. In wild ruminants the prevalence of AP has been found to vary between regions and countries, with values ranging from 10 -38% in roe deer, 10 -51% in red deer, [13,15,16,28,29] and as high as 98.9% in roe deer infected in Germany [30].…”

“…There is little information about the presence of AP in wildlife in eastern Poland [11][12][13][14][15][16], thus the aim of this study was to determine the presence of A. phagocytophilum in roe deer in this part of the country.…”

Identification of Hepatitis E Virus in the Feces of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

“…Foxes could be potential sentinel indicators in terms of their epidemiological appearance. Notable that foxes can be natural reservoir hosts of several pathogens, may be effective vectors of zoonotic diseases that pose an important risk for domestic animals and humans as well [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Therefore, the red fox is an ecologically and also epidemiologically important mesopredator [ 15 ].…”