Molecular and serological characterization of Anaplasma marginale in the northeast transboundary region of Mexico

Abstract

Anaplasmosis is a disease caused by rickettsiae Anaplasma spp, , however Anaplasma marginale is the causal agent of bovine anaplasmosis whose pathogenicity is the highest among all species. Nevertheless, in the northeastern region of Mexico there is no updated information that allows characterize the epidemiology of the disease, therefore in the present study 50 bovines coming from the transboundary region Mexico-USA in the state of Tamaulipas were tested during the period from April to October of the year 2021. The diagnostic was carried out by blood smears, PCR and ELISA and the results obtained allow corroborate the presence of A. marginale in some sampled municipalities, in addition to this we confirm that PCR continues to be the most efficient method for the diagnostic of this pathogen due to the high sensitivity, even before the animals show the clinical signs of the disease or that the blood parameters present some variation as result of the infection.