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Case Reports
. 2014 Dec;91(6):1161-5.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0372. Epub 2014 Sep 29.

Case report: Molecular evidence of Anaplasma platys infection in two women from Venezuela

Cruz M Arraga-Alvarado  1 , Barbara A Qurollo  1 , Omaira C Parra  1 , Maribel A Berrueta  1 , Barbara C Hegarty  1 , Edward B Breitschwerdt  2
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Case Reports

Case report: Molecular evidence of Anaplasma platys infection in two women from Venezuela

Cruz M Arraga-Alvarado et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

This article presents two case reports of Anaplasma platys detection in two women from Venezuela. Both patients were exposed to Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the presumed tick vector, and experienced chronic, nonspecific clinical signs including headaches and muscle pains. Intra-platelet inclusion bodies resembling A. platys were observed in buffy coat smears and A. platys DNA was amplified and sequenced from whole blood; however, treatment with doxycycline did not alleviate their symptoms. These cases provide further support for A. platys as a zoonotic tick-borne pathogen, most likely of low pathogenicity; nonetheless, the cause of illness in humans by A. platys is yet to be confirmed.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Intra-platelet inclusions in a buffy coat smear (BCS) from case 1, infected with Anaplasma platys. 1,000×.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Intra-platelet inclusions in a buffy coat smear (BCS) from case 2, infected with Anaplasma platys. 1,000×.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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