Serological Evidence Supporting the Occurrence of or a Closely Related Species in Brazilian Dogs

Overview

Journal Pathogens

Date 2023 Aug 25

PMID 37623984

Authors

Isis Indaiara Goncalves Granjeiro Taques

Andreia Lima Tome Melo

Mauricio Claudio Horta

Nathalia Assis Pereira

Daniel Moura Aguiar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

is a tick-borne bacterium that causes human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis, an emerging life-threatening disease in humans transmitted by . Although most studies have reported bacterial isolations and clinical cases in the United States, their occurrence is not restricted to North America. Some studies in the Southern Cone of South America have molecularly detected a close phylogenetic relative of in ticks and wild mammals. Even so, many gaps must be filled to confirm the presence of this agent in the region. To add new data on this issue, we report the first detection of specific anti- antibodies in dogs collected from all regions of Brazil. By means of IFA and ELISA with crude and specific antigens of , sera from 1134 dogs were analyzed. Serological analyses using ELISA showed nine (0.7%) seropositive dogs, with seven of them exhibiting IFA titers ranging from 160 to 5120. All regions of Brazil had at least one seropositive dog. Our results support the evidence for the occurrence of in South America. As dogs have a close relationship with humans, they can be used as an environmental sentinel for these infections because they can act as a bridge to human parasitism or infection with ehrlichial agents.

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Ehrlichia sp. in dairy cattle from Bahia, Brazil: high seropositivity rates and molecular confirmation of Ehrlichia minasensis.

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