Please cite this article in press as: Härtwig, V., et al., Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) from Brandenburg, Germany. Ticks Tick-borne Dis. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.11.001 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model TTBDIS-274; No. of Pages 4 Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases xxx (2014) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases j ourna l h o me page: w ww.elsevier.com/locate/ttbdis Short communication Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) from Brandenburg, Germany Vera Härtwig a , Friederike D. von Loewenich b , Christoph Schulze c , Reinhard K. Straubinger d , Arwid Daugschies a , Viktor Dyachenko d,∗ a Institute of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Leipzig, Germany b Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg, Germany c Berlin-Brandenburg State Laboratory, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany d Institute for Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Department for Veterinary Science, Faculty for Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Germany a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 29 May 2013 Received in revised form 15 November 2013 Accepted 18 November 2013 Available online xxx Keywords: Anaplasma phagocytophilum Real-time PCR Lung tissue Vulpes vulpes Red foxes Nyctereutes procyonoides Raccoon dogs a b s t r a c t Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligate intracellular and tick-transmitted bacterium, which causes granulocytic anaplasmosis in animals and humans. Although infection with A. phagocytophilum in domestic animals and vector ticks is documented, there is sparse information on the occurrence of A. phagocytophilum in wild animals. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) as well as raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes pro- cyonoides) are wildlife species highly abundant in certain areas of Germany and represent a potential wildlife reservoir for zoonotic diseases. To obtain data about the occurrence of A. phagocytophilum in these animals, red fox and raccoon dog carcasses (hunted or found dead) were collected from January to September 2009 in the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany. Lung tissue samples were subjected to DNA extraction and were examined for the presence of A. phagocytophilum DNA by means of real-time PCR. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in 10 out of 122 (8.2%) lungs of red foxes and in 3 out of 13 (23%) lungs of raccoon dogs. To the best of our knowledge, A. phagocytophilum was detected for the first time in red foxes and raccoon dogs in Germany. © 2014 Published by Elsevier GmbH. Introduction Disease caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum typically involves unspecific clinical signs and is known as tick-borne fever in ruminants or granulocytic anaplasmosis in humans, horses, dogs, and cats (Woldehiwet, 2010). In acutely infected animals and humans, A. phagocytophilum is found predominantly in neutrophilic or eosinophilic granulocytes and monocytes during the period of bacteraemia (Woldehiwet, 2010). Afterwards, the pathogen seems to be able to maintain a persistent infection in some species with recurrent periods of bacteraemia, as it was shown in experimentally infected animals such as dogs (Scorpio ∗ Corresponding author at: Institute for Infectious Disease and Zoonoses, Depart- ment for Veterinary Science, Faculty for Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Veterinaerstr. 13, D-80539 Munich, Germany. Tel.: +49 89 2180 5881; fax: +49 89 2180 2597. E-mail addresses: v.dyachenko@lmu.de, Viktor.Dyachenko@micro.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de (V. Dyachenko). et al., 2011), horses (Franzen et al., 2009), and sheep (Granquist et al., 2010; Thomas et al., 2012). The taxonomy of A. phagocytophilum was revised in 2001 based on molecular genetic examinations (Dumler et al., 2001). It includes now the pathogens previously known as the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent in humans, Ehrlichia phagocytophila in ruminants, and Ehrlichia equi in equines (Rikihisa, 2011). A high genetic diversity within A. phagocytophilum as well as differences in host pathogenicity of this bacterium have been observed which seem to result in distinct coexisting natural cycles with different reservoir hosts (Bown et al., 2009; De la Fuente et al., 2005; Foley et al., 2009; Pusterla et al., 1999b, 2001; Scharf et al., 2011; Silaghi et al., 2011a). Transstadial transmission of A. phagocytophilum in its vec- tor tick – mainly Ixodes ricinus in Europe – is well known, but transovarial transmission has not been demonstrated so far, which suggests that reservoir hosts are maintaining this pathogen in nature (Woldehiwet, 2010). Based on seroprevalence data, it was shown that domestic animals are involved in the ecology of A. phagocytophilum. In this context, specific antibodies against A. phagocytophilum were found in 16.2% of German cats (Hamel http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.11.001 1877-959X/© 2014 Published by Elsevier GmbH.