title: Molecular detection of Anaplasma platys infection in free-roaming dogs and ticks from Kenya and Ivory Coast.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anaplasma platys is a bacterium parasitic in the canine platelets, representing the causative agent of canine cyclic thrombocytopenia, with a worldwide distribution, mainly in tropical countries. The agent has zoonotic potential, being reported in several human clinical cases. The suspected vector is the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato), widely distributed in animals and humans in the tropical regions of South America, Africa, Asia and Australia, but also in southern Europe. Only few scattered data concerning the epidemiology of A. platys in sub-Saharan Africa are available. The aim of our study was to evaluate the epidemiological status of A. platys in dogs and cats from rural communities in eastern and western Africa, where dogs and their ticks live in close contact with humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 216 canine and 22 feline blood samples and ticks feeding on them were collected in 2013 and 2014 from eight localities in Ivory Coast and four localities in Kenya. PCR was performed using specific primers targeting a portion of the 16S rRNA gene, followed by sequencing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main results highlight the high prevalence of A. platys infection in dogs in both Eastern and Western Africa and report it for the first time in Eastern Africa and in Rhipicephalus camicasi.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of A. platys DNA in R. camicasi feeding on negative hosts together with the relatively high prevalence of A. platys, correlated with the absence of the probable vector Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.) in Kenyan Island suggest the involvement of other tick species in the transmission of A. platys.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Ioana Adriana
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Matei
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. gianluca.damico@usamvcluj.ro.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Amico
authors.affiliation: Unité de Formation et de Recherche Biosciences, Université de Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
authors.forename: Patrick K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Angela Monica
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ionică
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Paul W N
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Kanyari
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Aikaterini Alexandra
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Daskalaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Mirabela Oana
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Dumitrache
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Attila D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sándor
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Călin Mircea
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gherman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Moneeb
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qablan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.|CEITEC VFU, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.|Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Modrý
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Andrei Daniel
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Mihalca
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs; D007630:Kenya; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D048494:Rhipicephalus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D012424:Rural Population; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Africa; Anaplasma platys; Carnivores; Ivory Coast; Kenya