Attempted transmission of Ehrlichia chaffeensis among white-tailed deer by Amblyomma maculatum.
A deer was needle-exposed intravenously to Ehrlichia chaffeensis (Rickettsiales: Ehrlichieae) in canine macrophage (DH82) cells and 7 days later was infested with laboratory-reared Amblyomma maculatum (Koch) (Acari:Ixodidae) nymphs for acquisition feeding. After molting, the adult ticks were allowed to feed on a naive deer. The organism was reisolated from the needle-exposed deer by cell culture and E. chaffeensis DNA was detected in the deer's blood by PCR. Similar isolation/recovery techniques were used for the tick-exposed deer and no evidence of infection was found. Although these findings must be considered as preliminary owing to inadequate controls, the data suggest that A. maculatum is probably not a suitable vector for E. chaffeensis.
Kocan
A A
AA
College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078-2006, USA. aak4453@vms.okstate.edu
Ewing
S A
SA
Stallknecht
D
D
Murphy
G L
GL
Little
S
S
Whitworth
L C
LC
Barker
R W
RW
D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D003670:Deer; D018469:Ehrlichia chaffeensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D009758:Nymph / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*
D004269:DNA, Bacterial