title: Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum DNA in Ixodes ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from Madeira Island and Setubal District, mainland Portugal.
abstract: A total of 278 Ixodes ticks, collected from Madeira Island and Setubal District, mainland Portugal, were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Six (4%) of 142 Ixodes ricinus nymphs collected in Madeira Island and 1 nymph and 1 male (2%) of 93 I. ventalloi collected in Setubal District tested positive for A. phagocytophilum msp2 genes or rrs. Infection was not detected among 43 I. ricinus on mainland Portugal. All PCR products were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing to be identical or to be most closely related to A. phagocytophilum. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of A. phagocytophilum in ticks from Setubal District, mainland Portugal, and the first documentation of Anaplasma infection in I. ventalloi. Moreover, these findings confirm the persistence of A. phagocytophilum in Madeira Island's I. ricinus.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Aguas de Moura, Portugal. ana.santos@insa.min-saude.pt
authors.forename: Ana Sofia
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Maria Margarida
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Santos-Silva
authors.forename: Victor Carlos
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Fátima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bacellar
authors.forename: John Stephen
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dumler
mesh_terms: D041081:Anaplasma phagocytophilum / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011174:Portugal
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial