TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular detection of Anaplasma platys infection in free-roaming dogs and ticks from Kenya and Ivory Coast
AU - Matei, Ioana Adriana
AU - D'Amico, Gianluca
AU - Yao, Patrick K.
AU - Ionica, Angela Monica
AU - Kanyari, Paul W.N.
AU - Daskalaki, Aikaterini Alexandra
AU - Dumitrache, Mirabela Oana
AU - Sandor, Attila D.
AU - Gherman, Calin Mircea
AU - Qablan, Moneeb
AU - Modrý, David
AU - Mihalca, Andrei Daniel
N1 - Funding Information:
The research was supported from UEFISCDI grant TE298/2015. We are also grateful for the help of our collaborators in Ivory Coast during the field work in 2013: Dr. Stéphane Kouassi Kan and Dr. Kouassi Eugéne Koffi (Institut Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire), Dr. Kouamé Bertin Akpatou and Ekoun Michael Konan (Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny, UFR Biosciences). Special thanks to the institutions in Ivory Coast who supported the research with the relevant permits and logistics: SODEFOR (Société de développement des Forêts), IPCI (Institut Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire) and OIPR (Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves). The field work in Kenya was done with the great support from Klára Kunčická, Martin Modrý, Ali Abdulrahman and other local field assistants. Special thanks to Dr. Alicia Rojas and Prof. Gad Baneth for providing the positive control. This paper was published under the frame of EurNegVec COST Action TD1303.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Matei et al.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Background: Anaplasma platys is a bacterium parasitic in the canine platelets, representing the causative agent of canine cyclic thrombocytopenia, with a worldwide distribution, mainly in tropical countries. The agent has zoonotic potential, being reported in several human clinical cases. The suspected vector is the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato), widely distributed in animals and humans in the tropical regions of South America, Africa, Asia and Australia, but also in southern Europe. Only few scattered data concerning the epidemiology of A. platys in sub-Saharan Africa are available. The aim of our study was to evaluate the epidemiological status of A. platys in dogs and cats from rural communities in eastern and western Africa, where dogs and their ticks live in close contact with humans. Methods: A total of 216 canine and 22 feline blood samples and ticks feeding on them were collected in 2013 and 2014 from eight localities in Ivory Coast and four localities in Kenya. PCR was performed using specific primers targeting a portion of the 16S rRNA gene, followed by sequencing. Results: The main results highlight the high prevalence of A. platys infection in dogs in both Eastern and Western Africa and report it for the first time in Eastern Africa and in Rhipicephalus camicasi. Conclusions: The presence of A. platys DNA in R. camicasi feeding on negative hosts together with the relatively high prevalence of A. platys, correlated with the absence of the probable vector Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.) in Kenyan Island suggest the involvement of other tick species in the transmission of A. platys.
AB - Background: Anaplasma platys is a bacterium parasitic in the canine platelets, representing the causative agent of canine cyclic thrombocytopenia, with a worldwide distribution, mainly in tropical countries. The agent has zoonotic potential, being reported in several human clinical cases. The suspected vector is the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato), widely distributed in animals and humans in the tropical regions of South America, Africa, Asia and Australia, but also in southern Europe. Only few scattered data concerning the epidemiology of A. platys in sub-Saharan Africa are available. The aim of our study was to evaluate the epidemiological status of A. platys in dogs and cats from rural communities in eastern and western Africa, where dogs and their ticks live in close contact with humans. Methods: A total of 216 canine and 22 feline blood samples and ticks feeding on them were collected in 2013 and 2014 from eight localities in Ivory Coast and four localities in Kenya. PCR was performed using specific primers targeting a portion of the 16S rRNA gene, followed by sequencing. Results: The main results highlight the high prevalence of A. platys infection in dogs in both Eastern and Western Africa and report it for the first time in Eastern Africa and in Rhipicephalus camicasi. Conclusions: The presence of A. platys DNA in R. camicasi feeding on negative hosts together with the relatively high prevalence of A. platys, correlated with the absence of the probable vector Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.) in Kenyan Island suggest the involvement of other tick species in the transmission of A. platys.
KW - Africa
KW - Anaplasma platys
KW - Carnivores
KW - Ivory Coast
KW - Kenya
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85007573036&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85007573036&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13071-016-1443-3
DO - 10.1186/s13071-016-1443-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 26984538
AN - SCOPUS:85007573036
SN - 1756-3305
VL - 9
JO - Parasites and Vectors
JF - Parasites and Vectors
IS - 1
M1 - 157
ER -