Vol. 8, Issue 4 (2019)

Author(s):
Sunitha Karunakaran, Hareesh Sasidharan and Gopika Thattat Gopinathan

Abstract:
Anaplasma phagocytophilum formerly Ehrlichia phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human, equine and canine granulocytic anaplasmosis, is a small obligate intracellular bacterium which has infective stage inside granulocytes. Even though infective stage of bacterium is evident inside neutrophils, in the peripheral blood smears prepared from many of the canine patients, it is very difficult to arrive at an accurate and confirmatory diagnosis without a molecular diagnostic technique. Hence the present study was undertaken to standardize a Taqman based real time PCR targeting specific segment of 16SrRNA gene for the qualitative detection of A.phagocytophilum from suspected canine peripheral blood samples and also in ticks recovered from them. The results of the present study show that Taqman based Real Time PCR can be reliably used as an aid in accurate and confirmatory diagnosis based on the qualitative detection of A.phagocytophilum 16SrRNA gene. To authors knowledge this is the first report of molecular detection of A.phagocytophilum among canine population and in ticks recovered from them in Thrissur district, Kerala State.