Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan.
Background Human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a tick-borne infection caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, has received scant attention, while scrub typhus, a mite-transmitted disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, is the most common rickettsiosis in Taiwan. The clinical presentations of both diseas...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d63fa2bc3bdd4a87b76f973691a2f764 2023-05-15T15:10:45+02:00 Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan. Kun-Hsien Tsai Lo-Hsuan Chung Chia-Hao Chien Yu-Jung Tung Hsin-Yi Wei Tsai-Ying Yen Pei-Yun Shu Hsi-Chieh Wang 2019-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa2bc3bdd4a87b76f973691a2f764 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa2bc3bdd4a87b76f973691a2f764 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 13, Iss 9, p e0007728 (2019) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 2022-12-31T05:51:59Z Background Human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a tick-borne infection caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, has received scant attention, while scrub typhus, a mite-transmitted disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, is the most common rickettsiosis in Taiwan. The clinical presentations of both diseases are characterized by undifferentiated fever, headache and malaise. Moreover, both pathogens have been detected in small mammals that serve as hosts for chiggers and ticks in the wild. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether human granulocytic anaplasmosis occurs in Taiwan. Methodology/principal findings Blood samples from 274 patients suspected of having scrub typhus in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan, in 2011 and 2012 were retrospectively examined by immunofluorescence assays. IgG antibodies reactive with Anaplasma phagocytophilum was found in 31.8% (87/274) of the patients. Paired serology identified 3 patients with human granulocytic anaplasmosis and 8 patients with coinfection with O. tsutsugamushi and A. phagocytophilum. Laboratory tests showed that elevated serum ALT/AST, creatinine, and BUN levels were observed in patients with anaplasmosis and coinfection, but elevated serum CRP levels, thrombocytopenia, and anemia were only observed in coinfected patients. PCR detected A. phagocytophilum 16S rDNA and p44/msp2 in 2 patients. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that the replicons of the 16S rDNA shared high sequence similarity with the reference sequences in the Korea, USA, Japan, and China. The amplicons of p44/msp2 were close to those of the human variants identified in the USA and Japan. Conclusions Our findings indicated that A. phagocytophilum infection was prevalent but unrecognized in Taiwan. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Mite Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 13 9 e0007728 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Kun-Hsien Tsai Lo-Hsuan Chung Chia-Hao Chien Yu-Jung Tung Hsin-Yi Wei Tsai-Ying Yen Pei-Yun Shu Hsi-Chieh Wang Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background Human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a tick-borne infection caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, has received scant attention, while scrub typhus, a mite-transmitted disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, is the most common rickettsiosis in Taiwan. The clinical presentations of both diseases are characterized by undifferentiated fever, headache and malaise. Moreover, both pathogens have been detected in small mammals that serve as hosts for chiggers and ticks in the wild. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether human granulocytic anaplasmosis occurs in Taiwan. Methodology/principal findings Blood samples from 274 patients suspected of having scrub typhus in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan, in 2011 and 2012 were retrospectively examined by immunofluorescence assays. IgG antibodies reactive with Anaplasma phagocytophilum was found in 31.8% (87/274) of the patients. Paired serology identified 3 patients with human granulocytic anaplasmosis and 8 patients with coinfection with O. tsutsugamushi and A. phagocytophilum. Laboratory tests showed that elevated serum ALT/AST, creatinine, and BUN levels were observed in patients with anaplasmosis and coinfection, but elevated serum CRP levels, thrombocytopenia, and anemia were only observed in coinfected patients. PCR detected A. phagocytophilum 16S rDNA and p44/msp2 in 2 patients. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that the replicons of the 16S rDNA shared high sequence similarity with the reference sequences in the Korea, USA, Japan, and China. The amplicons of p44/msp2 were close to those of the human variants identified in the USA and Japan. Conclusions Our findings indicated that A. phagocytophilum infection was prevalent but unrecognized in Taiwan. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kun-Hsien Tsai Lo-Hsuan Chung Chia-Hao Chien Yu-Jung Tung Hsin-Yi Wei Tsai-Ying Yen Pei-Yun Shu Hsi-Chieh Wang |
author_facet |
Kun-Hsien Tsai Lo-Hsuan Chung Chia-Hao Chien Yu-Jung Tung Hsin-Yi Wei Tsai-Ying Yen Pei-Yun Shu Hsi-Chieh Wang |
author_sort |
Kun-Hsien Tsai |
title |
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan. |
title_short |
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan. |
title_full |
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan. |
title_fullStr |
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Kinmen, an offshore island of Taiwan. |
title_sort |
human granulocytic anaplasmosis in kinmen, an offshore island of taiwan. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa2bc3bdd4a87b76f973691a2f764 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Mite |
genre_facet |
Arctic Mite |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 13, Iss 9, p e0007728 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa2bc3bdd4a87b76f973691a2f764 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007728 |
container_title |
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e0007728 |
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1766341716351123456 |