Abstract
BackgroundAnaplasma 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionsThe 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.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1443-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
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 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
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
Summary
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 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. The agent of infectious canine cyclic thrombocytopenia (ICCT), is an obligate intracellular rickettsial organism of the family Anaplasmataceae [1, 2]. It is commonly infecting platelets where it forms basophilic morulae [1, 3]. The zoonotic potential was suggested in the last few years in Venezuela, USA and Grenada or South Africa [10,11,12]. The pathogen was recorded in several countries from the
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