Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1995 Sep;33(9):2501–2504. doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.9.2501-2504.1995

Detection of Cowdria ruminantium in blood and bone marrow samples from clinically normal, free-ranging Zimbabwean wild ungulates.

N D Kock 1, A H van Vliet 1, K Charlton 1, F Jongejan 1
PMCID: PMC228457  PMID: 7494060

Abstract

Cowdria ruminantium causes severe, often fatal disease in domestic ruminants, whereas wildlife species usually are not affected. Blood and bone marrow samples from healthy, free-ranging Zimbabwean ungulates were taken during translocation from areas harboring Amblyomma ticks and tested for the presence of C. ruminantium, using a PCR assay based on the C. ruminantium map1 gene. Positive reactions were obtained in tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus), waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), and impala (Aepyceros melampus). Wildlife species may therefore be a reservoir for C. ruminantium thus contributing to the spread of cowdriosis.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (376.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Andrew H. R., Norval R. A. The carrier status of sheep, cattle and African buffalo recovered from heartwater. Vet Parasitol. 1989 Dec;34(3):261–266. doi: 10.1016/0304-4017(89)90056-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barré N., Camus E. The reservoir status of goats recovered from heartwater. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1987 Sep;54(3):435–437. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barré N., Uilenberg G., Morel P. C., Camus E. Danger of introducing heartwater onto the American mainland: potential role of indigenous and exotic Amblyomma ticks. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1987 Sep;54(3):405–417. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dardiri A. H., Logan L. L., Mebus C. A. Susceptibility of white-tailed deer to experimental heartwater infections. J Wildl Dis. 1987 Apr;23(2):215–219. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-23.2.215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dawson J. E., Stallknecht D. E., Howerth E. W., Warner C., Biggie K., Davidson W. R., Lockhart J. M., Nettles V. F., Olson J. G., Childs J. E. Susceptibility of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the etiologic agent of human ehrlichiosis. J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Nov;32(11):2725–2728. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.11.2725-2728.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jongejan F., Uilenberg G., Franssen F. F., Gueye A., Nieuwenhuijs J. Antigenic differences between stocks of Cowdria ruminantium. Res Vet Sci. 1988 Mar;44(2):186–189. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jongejan F., de Vries N., Nieuwenhuijs J., Van Vliet A. H., Wassink L. A. The immunodominant 32-kilodalton protein of Cowdria ruminantium is conserved within the genus Ehrlichia. Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop. 1993;46(1-2):145–152. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Logan L. L., Whyard T. C., Quintero J. C., Mebus C. A. The development of Cowdria ruminantium in neutrophils. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1987 Sep;54(3):197–204. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mahan S. M., Tebele N., Mukwedeya D., Semu S., Nyathi C. B., Wassink L. A., Kelly P. J., Peter T., Barbet A. F. An immunoblotting diagnostic assay for heartwater based on the immunodominant 32-kilodalton protein of Cowdria ruminantium detects false positives in field sera. J Clin Microbiol. 1993 Oct;31(10):2729–2737. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.10.2729-2737.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mahan S. M., Waghela S. D., McGuire T. C., Rurangirwa F. R., Wassink L. A., Barbet A. F. A cloned DNA probe for Cowdria ruminantium hybridizes with eight heartwater strains and detects infected sheep. J Clin Microbiol. 1992 Apr;30(4):981–986. doi: 10.1128/jcm.30.4.981-986.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Norval R. A., Perry B. D., Meltzer M. I., Kruska R. L., Booth T. H. Factors affecting the distributions of the ticks Amblyomma hebraeum and A. variegatum in Zimbabwe: implications of reduced acaricide usage. Exp Appl Acarol. 1994 Jul;18(7):383–407. doi: 10.1007/BF00051522. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Oberem P. T., Bezuidenhout J. D. Heartwater in hosts other than domestic ruminants. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 1987 Sep;54(3):271–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Wassink L. A., Jongejan F., Gruys E., Uilenberg G. Observations on mouse-infective stocks of Cowdria ruminantium: microscopical demonstration of the Kwanyanga stock in mouse tissue and the carrier-status of the Senegal stock in mice. Res Vet Sci. 1990 May;48(3):389–390. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. de Vries N., Mahan S. M., Ushewokunze-Obatolu U., Norval R. A., Jongejan F. Correlation between antibodies to Cowdria ruminantium (rickettsiales) in cattle and the distribution of Amblyomma vector ticks in Zimbabwe. Exp Appl Acarol. 1993 Nov;17(11):799–810. doi: 10.1007/BF00225853. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. van Vliet A. H., Jongejan F., van Kleef M., van der Zeijst B. A. Molecular cloning, sequence analysis, and expression of the gene encoding the immunodominant 32-kilodalton protein of Cowdria ruminantium. Infect Immun. 1994 Apr;62(4):1451–1456. doi: 10.1128/iai.62.4.1451-1456.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. van Vliet A. H., Jongejan F., van der Zeijst B. A. Phylogenetic position of Cowdria ruminantium (Rickettsiales) determined by analysis of amplified 16S ribosomal DNA sequences. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1992 Jul;42(3):494–498. doi: 10.1099/00207713-42-3-494. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. van Vliet A. H., van der Zeijst B. A., Camus E., Mahan S. M., Martinez D., Jongejan F. Use of a specific immunogenic region on the Cowdria ruminantium MAP1 protein in a serological assay. J Clin Microbiol. 1995 Sep;33(9):2405–2410. doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.9.2405-2410.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES