Original article

Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infection in North Norway. The First Laboratory Confirmed Case

S Stuen¹, A Solli Oppegaard², K Bergström³ and T Moum¹

¹  Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Sandnes, Norway

²  Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Sør-Helgeland, Brønnøysund, Norway

³  National Veterinary Institute, Department of Bacteriology, Uppsala, Sweden

corresponding author email

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2005, 46:167-171doi:10.1186/1751-0147-46-167

Published:	30 September 2005

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

Tick-borne fever (TBF) caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum (formerly Ehrlichia phagocytophila) and transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus is a common disease in domestic ruminants on the west coast of southern Norway [8]. TBF in cattle and sheep is characterized by high fever, reduced milk yield, inclusions in circulating neutrophils, leucopenia, abortions and reduced fertility. In cattle, the incubation period after experimental inoculation is 4–9 days and the fever period may last for 1–13 days [6,2]. A. phagocytophilum infection normally gives mild to moderate clinical signs, but serious complications including deaths have been observed [15,5]. Clinical signs in cattle may include depression, decreased appetite, coughing, nasal discharge, respiratory signs, swelling of the hind limbs and stiff gate [6,2]. However, the most serious problem associated with TBF, especially in sheep, is the following immunosuppresion, which may predispose to secondary infections [16]. The infection can therefore cause severe lamb losses on tick pasture [17]. In addition, indirect losses such as reduced growth rate have been observed in both young cattle and lambs infected with A. phagocytophilum [14,11].