Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jan 31:7:57.
doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-57.

Detection of tick-borne 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis' and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Spain in 2013

Ana M Palomar, Lara García-Álvarez, Sonia Santibáñez, Aránzazu Portillo, José A Oteo  1
Affiliations

Detection of tick-borne 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis' and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Spain in 2013

Ana M Palomar et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis' is a tick-borne bacteria implicated in human health. To date, 'Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis' has been described in different countries from Africa, Asia and Europe, but never in Spain. However, according to the epidemiological features of the main vector in Europe, Ixodes ricinus, its circulation in our country was suspected.

Methods: A total of 200 I. ricinus ticks collected in the North of Spain were analyzed. DNAs were extracted and used as templates for PCRs targeting fragment genes for Anaplasma/Ehrlichia detection. The amplified products were sequenced and analyzed.

Results: 'Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis' was amplified in two specimens. Furthermore, Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in 61 samples analyzed.

Conclusions: The detection of 'Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis' in I. ricinus ticks from Spain indicates its circulation and the potential risk of contracting a human infection in this country.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Kawahara M, Rikihisa Y, Isogai E, Takahashi M, Misumi H, Suto C, Shibata S, Zhang C, Tsuji M. Ultrastructure and phylogenetic analysis of ‘Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis’ in the family Anaplasmataceae, isolated from wild rats and found in Ixodes ovatus ticks. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2004;54:1837–1843. doi: 10.1099/ijs.0.63260-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Li H, Jiang JF, Liu W, Zheng YC, Huo QB, Tang K, Zuo SY, Liu K, Jiang BG, Yang H, Cao WC. Human infection with ‘Candidatus neoehrlichia mikurensis’, China. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012;18:1636–1639. doi: 10.3201/eid1810.120594. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kamani J, Baneth G, Mumcuoglu KY, Waziri NE, Eyal O, Guthmann Y, Harrus S. Molecular detection and characterization of tick-borne pathogens in dogs and ticks from Nigeria. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013;7:e2108. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002108. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Welinder-Olsson C, Kjellin E, Vaht K, Jacobsson S, Wenneras C. First case of human ‘Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis’ infection in a febrile patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. J Clin Microbiol. 2010;48:1956–1959. doi: 10.1128/JCM.02423-09. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. von Loewenich FD, Geissdörfer W, Disqué C, Matten J, Schett G, Sakka SG, Bogdan C. Detection of ‘Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis’ in two patients with severe febrile illnesses: evidence for a European sequence variant. J Clin Microbiol. 2010;48:2630–2635. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00588-10. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources