Linked Life Data

12737542

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/12737542

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2003-5-9
pubmed:abstractText
In the northeastern United States, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE), is transmitted by the tick vector Ixodes scapularis. The white-footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus is a competent reservoir for this agent, but the reservoir competence of non-Peromyscus hosts of I. scapularis has not been studied. Here, we report data confirming reservoir competence of medium-sized mammals for A. phagocytophilum. Raccoons, Virginia opossums, gray squirrels, and striped skunks were live-trapped in June-August of 1998-1999 at two locations in Connecticut. Captured animals were kept for several days at the laboratory in wire-mesh cages over water to allow naturally attached ticks to drop off. Samples of blood and serum were taken from each animal prior to its release at the site of capture. Engorged ticks collected from each animal were allowed to molt. Resulting I. scapularis nymphs and adults were tested for the presence of A. phagocytophilum DNA by polymerase chain reaction, as were the blood samples from the animals. A. phagocytophilum DNA was detected in the blood of >10% of the raccoons tested. Raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and skunks produced adult I. scapularis infected with the agent of HGE. Prevalence of infection was the highest in adult ticks fed as nymphs upon raccoons (23%) and the lowest in those fed upon skunks and opossums (5-7%). The agent was present in nymphal I. scapularis fed as larvae upon raccoons and squirrels, but not in ticks fed upon skunks or opossums. We also tested the ability of I. scapularis to transmit A. phagocytophilum to laboratory-reared white-footed mice after acquiring it from medium-sized mammals. Ticks that acquired the agent from raccoons and squirrels successfully transmitted it to mice. Thus, raccoons and gray squirrels are reservoir-competent for the agent of HGE-they become naturally infected, and are capable of transmitting the infection to feeding ticks.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
1530-3667
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
2
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
125-36
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2002
pubmed:articleTitle
Comparison of the reservoir competence of medium-sized mammals and Peromyscus leucopus for Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Connecticut.
pubmed:affiliation
Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. MLevin@cdc.gov
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't