Seroprevalence and genotypic analysis of ehrlichia canis infection in dogs and humans in Cauca, Colombia
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0965
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-5-2021
Publication Title
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Abstract
Ehrlichia canis infections have been reported in humans in Venezuela and Costa Rica. In this study, 506 healthy residents and 114 dogs from four municipalities (Cauca, Colombia) were surveyed and blood samples collected. Antibodies to E. canis in human and canine sera were evaluated using the Tandem repeat protein 19 (TRP19) peptide ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Ehrlichia canis TRP19 antibodies were detected in only 1/506 human sera, but the single positive sample was negative by IFA. The majority (75/114; 66%) of dogs surveyed had antibodies to the E. canis TRP19 peptide by ELISA, and eight randomly selected sera were further confirmed by E. canis IFA. Genomic DNA samples obtained from 73 E. canis TRP19 ELISA-positive dog blood samples were examined by PCR targeting the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene. Ehrlichia canis 16S rRNA was amplified in 30 (41%) of the dogs, and 16 amplicons were selected for DNA sequencing, which confirmed that all were E. canis. A second PCR was performed on the 16 confirmed E. canis 16S rRNA PCR-positive samples to determine the TRP36 genotype by amplifying the trp36 gene. TRP36 PCR amplicon sequencing identified nine dogs infected with the U.S. E. canis TRP36 genotype (56%), one dog with the Brazilian genotype (6%), and six dogs with the Costa Rican genotype (38%). Moreover, these molecular genotype signatures were consistent with serologic analysis using TRP36 genotype-specific peptides. Notably, there was no serologic evidence of E. canis infection in humans, suggesting that E. canis infection in dogs in Cauca is not associated with zoonotic human infection.
Volume
104
Issue
5
First Page
1771
Last Page
1776
ISSN
00029637
Recommended Citation
Forero-Becerra, Elkin; Patel, Jignesh; Martinez-Diaz, Heidy C.; Betancourt-Ruiz, Paola; Benavides, Efrain; Duran, Steven; Olaya-Masmela, Luz A.; Bolaños, Eliana; Hidalgo, Marylin; and McBride, Jere W., "Seroprevalence and genotypic analysis of ehrlichia canis infection in dogs and humans in Cauca, Colombia" (2021). Scopus Unisalle. 849.
https://ciencia.lasalle.edu.co/scopus_unisalle/849
PubMed ID
33755584
Identifier
85105543553 (Scopus)