Morphological and Molecular Investigation of Anaplasma Infection in Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Bushehr Province, Iran

BACKGROUND: Anaplasmosis is caused by an obligate intracellular, gramnegative microorganism, which belongs to the family Anaplasmatacea and can be transmitted by ticks and other arthropods. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the status of Anaplasma spp. infection by microscopy and molecular methods in dromedary camels in Bushehr province, Iran. METHODS: A total of 139 blood samples were collected from dromedary camels in Bushehr province. Giemsa staining and nestedpolymerase chain reaction (PCR) were conducted to detect Anaplasma infection in the dromedary camels. RESULTS: We found that 27 (19.4%) out of the total 139 blood samples were suspected for the presence of Anaplasma spp. by morphological study. The PCR and nestedPCR sequencing results showed 111 (80%) and 134 (96%) samples positive for Anaplasma spp. and BLAST search in NCBI GenBank presented 100% identity with Candidatus Anaplasma camelii. CONCLUSIONS: The molecular results presented the high frequency of Candidatus Anaplasma camelii in camels, in Bushehr city.