IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Foley, J.E.; Foley, P.; Jecker, M.; Swift, P.K.; Madigan, J.E. | |
| Granulocytic ehrlichiosis and tick infestation in mountain lions in California | |
| 1999 Journal of Wildlife Diseases (35): 703-709 | |
Forty-seven mountain lions (_Puma concolor_) collected year-round in 1996 to 1998 from the Sierra Nevada foothills, the northern coast ranges, and in Monterey County (California, USA) were examined for infestation with_ Ixodes pacificus_ and _Dermacentor variabilis_ ticks. Ticks were found predominantly in winter and spring. The seroprevalence of granulocytic ehrlichiae (GE) antibodies (_Ehrlichia equi_ or the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis) was 17% and the PCR-prevalence of DNA characteristic of GE in blood was 16%. There were eight polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive but seronegative mountain lions, one that was PCR-positive and seropositive, and eight that were PCR-negative and seropositive. Nineteen percent of engorged tick pools from mountain lions were PCR-positive. Because mountain lions inhabit tick-infested habitat and are frequently bitten by _I. pacificus_, surveillance for GE antibodies and DNA in mountain lions and other vertebrate hosts may be useful as indicators for geographical regions in which humans are at risk of GE infection. |
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