Geographic Variation in the Prevalence of Candidatus Neoehrlichia procyonis in Raccoons (Procyon lotor) in the United States and Canada.

Meghan Lewis, Kayla B Garrett, Christopher A Cleveland, Sonia M Hernandez, Mark Swain, Michael J Yabsley

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Article in MicrobiologyOpen, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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6 authors.

Meghan LewisSoutheastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Kayla B GarrettSoutheastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Christopher A ClevelandSoutheastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Sonia M HernandezSoutheastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Mark SwainSoutheastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Michael J YabsleySoutheastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2452-5015

Funding

This study was funded by Young Scholars Program in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UGA, SCWDS member state wildlife agencies through the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act (50 Stat. 917). Further support was provided by SCWDS federal wildlife agency partners, including the United States Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System and the United States Geological Survey Ecosystems Mission Area.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are reservoirs for pathogens of other wildlife species, domestic animals, and humans, including several tick-borne pathogens. A relatively understudied organism in raccoons is Candidatus Neoehrlichia procyonis which has been detected in raccoons from the southeastern United States. A related species in Europe and Asia, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, uses rodents as reservoirs and Ixodes spp. as vectors; however, studies on rodents suggest they are not susceptible to Ca. N. procyonis. N. mikurensis has been associated with cases of neoehrlichiosis in people and dogs, which emphasizes the need to better understand the natural history of Ca. N. procyonis. We conducted a molecular survey of raccoons from selected regions of the United States and Canada. Of 394 raccoons tested, 167 (42.4%) were confirmed to be positive for Ca. N. procyonis based on sequence analysis. There was spatial variation in prevalence with significantly higher prevalence (68%, 268/394) being detected in the Southeast region of the United States compared with all other regions, although a high prevalence (55.1%, 217/394) was detected in California. Lower prevalence was detected in the Midwest (3.8%, 15/394) and none of the raccoons from Canada were positive. These data suggest that Ca. N. procyonis is widespread in raccoon populations in the United States but there is spatial variation which may be related to vector distribution or some other factor. Although not known to infect hosts other than raccoons, neoehrlichiosis should be considered in cases of suspected ehrlichiosis in immunocompromised dogs or people that have no known etiologic agent.

Indexed as

AnaplasmataceaeAnaplasmataceae InfectionsRaccoonsAnimalsCanadaPhylogenyPrevalenceSequence Analysis, DNAUnited Statesprocyonidsurveillancetick‐borne pathogenwildlife

Identifiers

PMID40195602

DOI10.1002/mbo3.70017

PMCPMC11976028

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