Co-infection with 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis' and Borrelia afzelii in an Ixodes ricinus tick that has bitten a human in Romania.

Despite the vast importance of ticks as disease vectors, the infectious agents transmitted by ticks are still incompletely known in many areas. Here, we report for the first time the detection of the bacterium 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis' in Romania, in an Ixodes ricinus tick obtained from a human. Furthermore, the tick also had a co-infection with Borrelia afzelii. 'Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis' is one of the most recent discoveries of a tick-borne agent, and has been found in human patients in several European countries as well as in China

First evidence of Anaplasma platys and Hepatozoon canis co-infection in a dog from Romania - A case report.

Anaplasma platys was first identified and described in North America as a Rickettsia-like, platelet-specific organism in dogs with infectious canine cyclic thrombocytopenia. In Europe, A. platys has so far mainly been described for some Mediterranean countries. Here, we describe a case of A. platys infection in a dog from Romania, confirmed by PCR. Additionally, the dog had a co-infection with Hepatozoon canis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of A. platys infection in Romania and the first case of a co-infection with A. platys and H. canis altogether. Both pathogens should be considered as possible disease agents in dogs suffering from disease associated with tick bite in south-eastern Europe

Molecular survey of neglected bacterial pathogens reveals an abundant diversity of species and genotypes in ticks collected from animal hosts across Romania

Abstract Background Ticks are transmitting a wide range of bacterial pathogens that cause substantial morbidity and mortality in domestic animals. The full pathogen burden transmitted by tick vectors is incompletely studied in many geographical areas, and extensive studies are required to fully understand the diversity and distribution of pathogens transmitted by ticks. Results We sampled 824 ticks of 11 species collected in 19 counties in Romania. Ticks were collected mainly from dogs, but also from other domestic and wild animals, and were subjected to molecular screening for pathogens. Rickettsia spp. was the most commonly detected pathogen, occurring in 10.6% (87/824) of ticks. Several species were detected: Rickettsia helvetica, R. raoultii, R. massiliae, R. monacensis, R. slovaca and R. aeschlimannii. A single occurrence of the zoonotic bacterium Bartonella vinsonii berkhoffii was detected in a tick collected from a dog. Anaplasma phagocytophilum occurred in four samples, and sequences similar to Anaplasma marginale/ovis were abundant in ticks from ruminants. In addition, molecular screening showed that ticks from dogs were carrying an Ehrlichia species identical to the HF strain as well as the enigmatic zoonotic pathogen “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis”. An organism similar to E. chaffeensis or E. muris was detected in an Ixodes ricinus collected from a fox. Conclusions We describe an abundant diversity of bacterial tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected from animal hosts in Romania, both on the level of species and genotypes/strains within these species. Several findings were novel for Romania, including Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii that causes bacteremia and endocarditis in dogs. “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” was detected in a tick collected from a dog. Previously, a single case of infection in a dog was diagnosed in Germany. The results warrant further studies on the consequences of tick-borne pathogens in domestic animals in Romania

Additional file 1: of Molecular survey of neglected bacterial pathogens reveals an abundant diversity of species and genotypes in ticks collected from animal hosts across Romania

Table S1. Tick-borne bacteria in Romanian ticks; details regarding tick species, locality, county, year, host, life stage of ticks and pathogen. (XLS 17 kb