Association of Anaplasma marginale strain superinfection with infection prevalence within tropical regions.

ABSTRACT: Strain superinfection occurs when a second strain infects a host already infected with and having mounted an immune response to a primary strain. The incidence of superinfection with Anaplasma marginale, a tick-borne rickettsial pathogen of domestic and wild ruminants, has been shown to be higher in tropical versus temperate regions. This has been attributed to the higher prevalence of infection, with consequent immunity against primary strains and thus greater selective pressure for superinfection with antigenically distinct strains. However an alternative explanation would be the differences in the transmitting vector, Dermacentor andersoni in the studied temperate regions and Rhipicephalus microplus in the studied tropical regions. To address this question, we examined two tropical popu

SUBMITTER: Castaneda-Ortiz EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4368111 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature