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First Evidence of Ehrlichia minasensis Infection in Horses from Brazil.

ABSTRACT: The genus Ehrlichia includes tick-borne bacterial pathogens affecting humans, domestic and wild mammals. Ehrlichia minasensis has been identified in different animal species and geographical locations, suggesting that this is a widely distributed and generalist Ehrlichia. In the present study, we evaluated Ehrlichial infection in 148 Equidae presented to the Medical Clinic Department of a Veterinary Hospital from a midwestern region of Brazil. Blood samples and ticks collected from the animals were tested by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for the presence of Ehrlichia spp. A multigenic approach including Anaplasmataceae-specific (i.e., 16S rRNA, groEL, gltA) and Ehrlichia-specific (i.e., dsb and trp36) genes was used for accurate bacteria identification. Sera samples were also collected and evaluated for the detection of anti-Ehrlichia antibodies by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA). Possible associations between molecular and serological diagnostics and clinical and hematological manifestations were tested using chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests. Sequence analysis of the dsb fragment revealed that three horses (2.03%) were exposed to E. minasensis. Sixty-one (41.2%) Equidae (58 equines and three mules), were seropositive for Ehrlichia spp., with antibody titers ranging between 40 and 2560. Seropositivity to ehrlichial antigens was statistically associated with tick infestation, rural origin, hypoalbuminemia and hyperproteinemia (p ≤ 0.05). The present study reports the first evidence of natural infection by E. minasensis in horses from Brazil.

SUBMITTER: Muraro LS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7996482 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The genus Ehrlichia is composed of tick-borne obligate intracellular gram-negative alphaproteobacteria of the family Anaplasmataceae. Ehrlichia includes important pathogens affecting canids (E. canis, E. chaffeensis, and E. ewingii), rodents (E. muris), and ruminants (E. ruminantium). Ehrlichiaminasensis, an Ehrlichia closely related to E. canis, was initially reported in Canada and Brazil. This bacterium has now been reported in Pakistan, Malaysia, China, Ethiopia, South Africa, and the Mediterranean island of Corsica, suggesting that E. minasensis has a wide geographical distribution. Previously, E. minasensis was found to cause clinical ehrlichiosis in an experimentally infected calf. The type strain E. minasensis UFMG-EV was successfully isolated from Rhipicephalus microplus ticks and propagated in the tick embryonic cell line of Ixodes scapularis (IDE8). However, the isolation and propagation of E. minasensis strains from cattle has remained elusive. In this study, the E. minasensis strain Cuiabá was isolated from an eight-month-old male calf of Holstein breed that was naturally infected with the bacterium. The calf presented clinical signs and hematological parameters of bovine ehrlichiosis. The in vitro culture of the agent was established in the canine cell line DH82. Ehrlichial morulae were observed using light and electron microscopy within DH82 cells. Total DNA was extracted, and the full genome of the E. minasensis strain Cuiabá was sequenced. A core-genome-based phylogenetic tree of Ehrlichia spp. and Anaplasma spp. confirmed that E. minasensis is a sister taxa of E. canis. A comparison of functional categories among Ehrlichia showed that E. minasensis has significantly less genes in the 'clustering-based subsystems' category, which includes functionally coupled genes for which the functional attributes are not well understood. Results strongly suggest that E. minasensis is a novel pathogen infecting cattle. The epidemiology of this Ehrlichia deserves further attention because these bacteria could be an overlooked cause of tick-borne bovine ehrlichiosis, with a wide distribution.

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First Evidence of Ehrlichia minasensis Infection in Horses from Brazil.

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