Anaplasma Species: Overview Coursework

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The Reasons for the Pathogen Being Dangerous

Species of Anaplasma which belongs to the family Anaplasmataceae, order Rickettsiales are organisms that are transmitted by ticks and can cause anaplasmosis in domestic animals and humans. Therefore, the regions with the high distribution of ticks are at risk;
According to Ybañez and Inokuma, “currently, there are six recognized species under this genus: Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma centrale, Anaplasma platys, Anaplasma bovis, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum” (1);
A. phagocytophilum is the most concerning bacterium of this kind because “it is an agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and of pasture fever or tick-borne fever of ruminants” (Ybañez and Inokuma 2). A. phagocytophilum is known to be highly adaptive.

Since the bacterium is tick-borne, the distribution of ticks might be regarded as an important reason for the emergence of A. phagocytophilum;

The cases of anaplasmois are reported annually: the majority of them are connected with the seasonal activity of blacklegged ticks;
The concerning tendency is that the number of cases increased from 348 cases in 2000 to 5,762 in 2017 (“Anaplasmosis”);
Anaplasmosis is diagnosed in Japan, Russia, the USA, etc.; in the US, most of the cases occur in the upper midwestern and northeastern states (“Anaplasmosis”).

The bacterium is transmitted either through a tick bite or, in some cases, by blood transfusion and infects blood cells.

As the bacterium is spread throughout the organism with blood, such clinical signs as severe anorexia, fever, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, etc. belong to the symptoms of the disease in animals;
Infected individuals can be asymptomatic, too;
As for anaplasmosis in human beings, its early symptoms are severe headaches, fever, muscle aches and vomiting or loss of appetite;
At the late stage, a person can develop respiratory failure and bleeding problems and eventually die;
Researchers note that HGA was first described in 1993 and can be dangerous to public health (Ybañez and Inokuma 2).

As an infected individual can show no symptoms, clinical signs, as well as blood smears, are unreliable while making a diagnosis;
In order to diagnose the disease, one should conduct hematologic testing with blood in anticoagulant.

The treatment of both animals and humans infected includes taking Doxycycline, a recommended antibiotic;
Speaking about the preventive measures, there is no vaccine against anaplasmosis;
In order to prevent the illness, it is necessary to prevent tick bites.

Ybañez, Adrian, and Hisashi Inokuma. “Anaplasma species of veterinary importance in Japan”. Vet World, vol. 9, no. 11, 2016, pp. 1190-1196.

“Anaplasmosis.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2019. Web.

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