A. phagocytophilum from Rodents and Sheep, China | CDC EID

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Volume 16, Number 5–May 2010
Research
Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Rodents and Sheep, China
Lin Zhan, Wu-Chun Cao, Jia-Fu Jiang, Xiao-Ai Zhang, Yun-Xi Liu, Xiao-Ming Wu, Wen-Yi Zhang, Pan-He Zhang, Chang-Ling Bian, J. Stephen Dumler, Hong Yang, Shu-Qing Zuo, Chen-Yi Chu, Wei Liu, Jan H. Richardus, and J. Dik F. Habbema
Author affiliations: Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, People's Republic of China (L. Zhan, W.-C. Cao, J.-F. Jiang, X.-A. Zhang, X.-M. Wu, W.-Y. Zhang, P.-H. Zhang, C.-L. Bian, H. Yang, S.-Q. Zuo, C.-Y. Chu, W. Liu); Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing (Y.-X. Liu); The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA (J.S. Dumler); and Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (J.H. Richardus, J.D.F. Habbema)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
To characterize the strains of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in wild and domestic animals in China, we isolated the organism from rodents and sheep in northeastern China. We isolated 3 strains (2 from rodents and 1 from sick sheep) through propagation in BALB/c mice and then cell culture in HL60 cells. The 3 isolates were identified by Wright-Giemsa staining, immunofluorescence, and electronic microscopy and were characterized by sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA gene, partial citrate synthase gene, major surface protein 4 gene, and heat shock protein gene. The multiple sequences of the 3 isolates were identical to each other but different from all known strains from other countries. The public health and veterinary relevance of the isolates deserves further investigation.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum has been recognized as an animal pathogen and is an emerging human pathogen of public health relevance. From 1994 to 2005, ≈3,000 cases of human granulocytic anaplasmosis were diagnosed in the United States (1), and in more recent years, sporadic and clustered cases have been reported in Europe and the People's Republic of China (2–5). Human are usually infected by tick bites, although perinatal transmission or transmission through contact with infected animal blood has been reported (1). A broad variety of animal species are known to carry A. phagocytophilum, and humans are incidental dead-end hosts (6).

Various A. phagocytophilum strains have been isolated from humans (6), domestic and wild animals, and ticks in the United States and Europe (1,6,7). Prior serologic and molecular evidence suggests that A. phagocytophilum has also infected humans, rodents, and ticks in many Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Korea (8–12). Our objectives were to obtain isolates of A. phagocytophilum in vitro by using the HL60 cell line and to characterize the strains from wild and domestic animals in China.

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Suggested Citation for this Article
Zhan L, Cao W-C, Jiang J-F, Zhang X-A, Liu Y-X, Wu X-M, et al. Anaplasma phagocytophilum from rodents and sheep, China. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 May [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/5/764.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1605.091293