Detection of \u3cem\u3eEhrlichia chaffeensis\u3c/em\u3e in Ticks of the Georgia Coast and Barrier Islands Using Polymerase Chain Reaction

Human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) is an emerging, zoonosis transmitted to mammals by ixodid ticks. Prevalence of infected ticks and distribution of infection foci indicate relative risk of human exposure to ehrlichiosis and may be influenced by factors such as geographic isolation and human disturbance. To test this, individual and pooled lone star ticks, Amblyomma americanum (L.), collected from 3 populations from the coast and barrier islands of Georgia were screened for Ehrlichia chaffeensis Anderson, Dawson, Jone, and Wilson, the agent of HME. A species-specific, nested polymerase chain reaction (PGR) assay was used to amplify a 572 base pair fragment of the E. chaffeensis 16S rRNA gene from infected ticks. PGR product specificity was confirmed by nucleotide sequencing. Our results showed the prevalence of infected ticks to be 0%, 0.9%, and 9.3% for Sapelo Island, St. Catherine\u27s Island, and Ft. McAllister respectively. See also: J. E. Whitlock, Q. Q. Fang, L. A. Durden, J. H. Oliver, Prevalence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) in Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) from the Georgia Coast and Barrier Islands, Journal of Medical Entomology, Volume 37, Issue 2, 1 March 2000, Pages 276–280, https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585-37.2.27