Objective: To investigate the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in rodents from forest areas in northeastern China.
Methods: PCR amplification, followed by sequence analysis was carried out. The sequences of 16S rRNA and gltA gene fragment amplified from rodent specimens were compared with corresponding part of the sequences deposited in GenBank.
Results: A total number of 276 rodents were tested, including 102 in Jilin province, 61 in Helongjiang province and 113 in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The positive rates were 8.82%, 1.64% and 0.00%, respectively. The infection rate in rodents infected by ticks was 11.30 times higher than that in rodents without ticks (P = 0.002). The S. A. phagocytophilum 16S rRNA sequences from rodents in Jilin and Heilongjiang were identical and differed in 3-5 bases compared with the corresponding parts of A. phagocytophilum from America, Sweden and Japan. Compared with the sequences registered in GenBank, the nucleotide sequence of gltA varied from 87%-97% and its deduced amino acid sequence changed from 84%-99%.
Conclusion: A. phagocytophilum infection was presented in rodents from Jilin and Heilongjiang province.