Molecular Evidence of Anaplasma platys Infection in Two Women from Venezuela

Cruz M. Arraga-Alvarado Unidad de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Barbara A. Qurollo Unidad de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Omaira C. Parra Unidad de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Maribel A. Berrueta Unidad de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Barbara C. Hegarty Unidad de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Edward B. Breitschwerdt Unidad de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

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This article presents two case reports of Anaplasma platys detection in two women from Venezuela. Both patients were exposed to Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the presumed tick vector, and experienced chronic, nonspecific clinical signs including headaches and muscle pains. Intra-platelet inclusion bodies resembling A. platys were observed in buffy coat smears and A. platys DNA was amplified and sequenced from whole blood; however, treatment with doxycycline did not alleviate their symptoms. These cases provide further support for A. platys as a zoonotic tick-borne pathogen, most likely of low pathogenicity; nonetheless, the cause of illness in humans by A. platys is yet to be confirmed.

Author Notes

* Address correspondence to Edward B. Breitschwerdt, 1060 William Moore Dr., Raleigh, NC 27607. E-mail: ed_breitschwerdt@ncsu.edu

Note: During the submission, review and publication of this manuscript, the NCSU-CVM-IPRL, in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, published another manuscript describing infection with Anaplasma platys, Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii in a dog, mother and daughter residing in North America. The reference citation for that manuscript is as follows: Breitschwerdt EB, Hegarty BC, BA, Qurollo BA, Saito TB, Maggi RG, Blanton LS, Bouyer BH. Intravascular persistence of Anaplasma platys, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Ehrlichia ewingii DNA in the blood of a dog and two family members. Parasites and Vectors 2014; 7: 298–305.

Financial support: Revenues of the VBDDL diagnostic service along with donations from industry and private sponsors are used for research projects otherwise unfunded that are pursued for their intellectual or societal benefits. Barbara Qurollo is a research postdoctoral fellow at North Carolina State University funded by IDEXX Laboratories Inc., Westbrook, ME.

Authors' addresses: Cruz M. Arraga-Alvarado, Omaira C. Parra, and Maribel A. Berrueta, Unidad de Investigaciones Clínicas, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela, E-mails: cruzmariaarragadealvarado@gmail.com, opamaldo@gmail.com, and maribelberruetaf@gmail.com. Barbara A. Qurollo, Barbara C. Hegarty, and Edward B. Breitschwerdt, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, E-mails: baquroll@ncsu.edu, barbara_hegarty@ncsu.edu, and ed_breitschwerdt@ncsu.edu.

Reprint requests: Edward B. Breitschwerdt, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Dr., Raleigh, NC 27607.

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