Molecular detection of Anaplasma platys and Ehrlichia canis in dogs from the North of Portugal

Tick-transmitted rickettsial pathogens belonging to the Ehrlichia and Anaplasma genera can infect dogs and humans. In this study, four dogs from the North of Portugal, in which an ehrlichial disease was suspected clinically, were tested by molecular methods. After DNA extraction from blood on filter paper, a 345 bp fragment of the Ehrlichia/Anaplasma 16S rRNA gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequence analysis of PCR products revealed one dog infected with Ehrlichia canis and three with Anaplasma platys. One of these latter animals was co-infected with Babesia canis subspecies vogeli. This is the first report of the genetic characterisation of both A. platys and E. canis in naturally infected dogs from the North of Portugal.