Elliott, J. A., Dickson, C. C., Kantar, L., O’Neal, M. R., Lichtenwalner, A., Bryant, A., Jakubas, W. J., Pekins, P. J., De Urioste-Stone, S. M., & Kamath, P. L. (2021). PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF ANAPLASMA INFECTIONS IN EASTERN MOOSE (ALCES ALCES AMERICANA) AND WINTER TICKS (DERMACENTOR ALBIPICTUS) IN MAINE, USA. Journal of wildlife diseases, 57(4), 844–855. https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-21-00020
New research on anaplasma in eastern moose and winter ticks in the Journal of Wildlife Disease. The authors screened for Anaplasma spp. in moose whole blood samples using a genus-specific PCR assay targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Over half (54%) of the moose were infected with Anaplasma bacteria, with a greater proportion of moose harboring Anaplasma-infections in the western (67%) versus northern study areas (38%). Male moose exhibited a higher prevalence than did females (63% vs. 47%). In contrast, Anaplasma spp. prevalence in winter ticks was low (<1%). Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the single Anaplasma strain in moose was highly divergent from the strain in winter ticks and most closely related to an uncharacterized North American cervid strain. They concluded that winter ticks are unlikely to play a significant role in Anaplasma transmission to moose; however, high infection prevalence warrants further investigation into the impacts of Anaplasma spp. infection on moose health.
