PCR Detection of Granulocytic Ehrlichiae in Ixodes ricinus Ticks and Wild Small Mammals in Western Switzerland

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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2000, p. 1002-1007, Vol. 38, No. 3
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

PCR Detection of Granulocytic Ehrlichiae in Ixodes ricinus Ticks and Wild Small Mammals in Western Switzerland

Jorge S. Liz,¹^,^* Laurence Anderes,¹ John W. Sumner,² Robert F. Massung,² Lise Gern,³ Bernard Rutti,¹ and Michel Brossard¹

Department of Immunology¹ and Department of Parasitology,³ Institute of Zoology, University of Neuchâtel, 2007 Neuchâtel, Switzerland; and Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333²

Received 9 August 1999/Returned for modification 11 October 1999/Accepted 8 December 1999

The presence of granulocytic ehrlichiae was demonstrated by PCR in Ixodes ricinus ticks and wild small mammals in Switzerlandin two areas of endemicity for bovine ehrlichiosis. Six ticks(three females and three nymphs) (1.4%) of 417 I. ricinus tickscollected by flagging vegetation contained ehrlichial DNA. A totalof 201 small mammals from five species, wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus),yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), earth vole (Pitymyssubterraneus), bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), and commonshrew (Sorex araneus), were trapped. The analysis of I. ricinusmammals collected on 116 small mammals showed that nine C. glareolusvoles and two A. sylvaticus mice hosted infected tick larvae.In these rodents, granulocytic ehrlichia infection was also detectedin blood, spleen, liver, and ear samples. Further examinationsof 190 small mammals without ticks or with noninfected ticks showedthe presence of ehrlichial DNA in spleen and other tissues fromsix additional C. glareolus, three A. flavicollis, and one S.araneus mammals. This study suggests that A. sylvaticus, A. flavicollis,S. araneus, and particularly C. glareolus are likely to be naturalreservoirs for granulocytic ehrlichiae. Partial 16S rRNA genesequences of granulocytic ehrlichiae from ticks and rodents showeda high degree of homology (99 to 100%) with granulocytic ehrlichiaeisolated from humans. In contrast, groESL heat shock operon sequenceanalysis showed a strong divergence (approximately 5%) betweenthe sequences in samples derived from rodents and those derivedfrom samples from questing ticks or from other published ehrlichiasequences. Dual infections with granulocytic ehrlichia and Borreliaburgdorferi were found in ticks and smallmammals.

^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Immunology, Institute of Zoology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand11, 2007 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Phone: 41-32-7183016. Fax: 41-32-7183011.E-mail: jorge.liz{at}zool.unine.ch.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2000, p. 1002-1007, Vol. 38, No. 3
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

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