title: Molecular characterization of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodes scapularis ticks from Pennsylvania.
abstract: Ixodes scapularis ticks were collected in 2000 and 2001 from two areas in Pennsylvania and tested for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi by PCR and DNA sequencing. Of the ticks collected from northwestern and southeastern Pennsylvania, 162 of 263 (61.6%) and 25 of 191 (13.1%), respectively, were found to be positive for B. burgdorferi. DNA sequencing showed >99% identity with B. burgdorferi strains B31 and JD1. PCR testing for A. phagocytophilum revealed that 5 of 263 (1.9%) from northwestern Pennsylvania and 76 of 191 (39.8%) from southeastern Pennsylvania were positive. DNA sequencing revealed two genotypes of A. phagocytophilum, the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent and a variant (AP-Variant 1) that has not been associated with human infection. Although only the HGE agent was present in northwestern Pennsylvania, both genotypes were found in southeastern Pennsylvania. These data add to a growing body of evidence showing that AP-Variant 1 is the predominant agent in areas where both genotypes coexist.
authors.affiliation: Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Courtney
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Dryden
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: Bradley S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Massung
mesh_terms: D041081:Anaplasma phagocytophilum / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010414:Pennsylvania; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S