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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 1998, p. 695-700, Vol. 36, No. 3
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Serologic Evidence of Infection with Ehrlichia spp. in Wild Rodents (Muridae: Sigmodontinae) in the United States

William L. Nicholson,1,2,* Susie Muir,1 John W. Sumner,1 and James E. Childs1

Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333,1 and Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 212052

Received 2 June 1997/Returned for modification 14 July 1997/Accepted 14 November 1997

Rodent (Muridae: Sigmodontinae) blood and sera collected from 14 states were tested for seroreactivity to a cultured isolate of the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent by using an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Of the 1,240 samples tested, 136 (11%) were found to be reactive at titers of >= 32. Rodents with HGE agent-specific antibodies were found in New York (23% of 491 samples; geometric mean endpoint titer [GMT] = 441), Connecticut (11% of 100 samples; GMT = 481), California (9% of 32 samples; GMT = 323), Colorado (2% of 212 samples; GMT = 256), Florida (7% of 27 samples; GMT = 362), Maryland (7% of 15 samples; titer = 64), New Jersey (4% of 76 samples; titer = 256), and Wisconsin (13% of 8 samples; titer = 128). Samples from Georgia (n = 16), Illinois (n = 27), Nevada (n = 27), North Carolina (n = 52), Ohio (n = 57), and Utah (n = 100) were not reactive. The earliest seroreactive sample was from a Peromyscus leucopus mouse collected in June 1986 in Connecticut, and the majority of the seroreactive samples (68%) were from this species. Samples from other Peromyscus species (P. boylii, P. maniculatus, and P. gossypinus) were also found to be reactive, with a GMT for the genus of 410. Several species of Neotoma woodrats (N. fuscipes, N. lepida, N. albigula, and N. mexicana) from California and Colorado had antibodies that reacted with the HGE agent (genus GMT = 194), suggesting that enzootic cycles of Ehrlichia spp. exist outside of the areas of confirmed human disease. Attempts to amplify and detect ehrlichial DNA from the limited tissues available (n = 40 animals) were unsuccessful. Further studies are needed to determine the identity of the organisms inducing antibody production in these rodent species and to elucidate the epidemiology and public health importance of these agents.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Mailstop G-13, Atlanta, GA 30333. Phone: (404) 639-1075. Fax: (404) 639-4436. E-mail: wan6{at}cdc.gov.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 1998, p. 695-700, Vol. 36, No. 3
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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