Molecular and serological evidence for Anaplasma infection in yaks

Authors: MILING MA, ZHIJIE LIU, GUIQUAN GUAN, YOUQUAN LI, JIANXUN LUO, HONG YIN

Abstract: Bovine anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale is considered to be an important disease in China; large-scale investigations have not been carried out since the 1990s, however, and whether or not yaks can be infected by A. marginale has never been investigated. In this study, 2 yaks were successfully infected by the inoculation of blood infected with A. marginale under experimental conditions. Furthermore, an investigation of 482 field serum samples from yaks using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the recombinant major surface protein 5 (MSP5) showed that 84.4% of the results were positive. In consideration of previously determined ecological and biological data related to A. marginale, it is assumed that yaks are potential natural reservoir hosts of A. marginale in the northwest of China.

Keywords: Yak, Anaplasma marginale, ELISA, MSP5

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