Detection by the polymerase chain reaction of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in tissues of persistently infected sheep.

To investigate the reservoir tissues of the tick-borne bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum in persistently infected sheep, six 6-month-old lambs were infected with a field isolate of the bacterium and maintained under tick-free conditions. At one and two weeks post-infection, A. phagocytophilum was detected in the peripheral blood of all lambs by examining May-Grünwald Giemsa-stained blood smears for classical intra-neutrophil inclusions, and by an A. phagocytophilum-specific nested PCR. After euthanasia at 3 months post-inoculation, peripheral blood and numerous tissue samples were collected from each lamb. DNA extracted from these samples was then subjected to PCR. All blood samples were PCR-negative but three lambs had PCR-positive tissues including intestinal wall and lymph nodes, thymus, bone marrow, kidney and bladder wall. The widespread nature of PCR-positive tissues suggested that circulatory cells may form the reservoir cells for A. phagocytophilum infection in carrier sheep, rather than lymphoid tissues as in rodents. PCR-positive tissue and blood samples were strikingly fewer in the experimentally infected sheep than reported earlier in tick-exposed carrier sheep under field conditions. It seems possible that tick infestation amplifies A. phagocytophilum infections in carrier sheep to a degree that enables tick transmission to occur.