Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.830180/full
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 14 January 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2021.830180
The “Biological Weapons” of Ehrlichia chaffeensis: Novel Molecules and Mechanisms to Subjugate Host Cells
Yasuko Rikihisa[SUP]*[/SUP]
...
1 Introduction
Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick-borne Gram-negative obligatory intracellular bacterium of the family Anaplasmataceae in the order Rickettsiales. Infection causes severe flu-like febrile disease called human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), which is often accompanied by hematologic abnormalities and signs similar to those of hepatitis (Dawson et al., 1991; Paddock and Childs, 2003). Tick-borne diseases are on the rise (Biggs et al., 2016; Madison-Antenucci et al., 2020; Alkishe et al., 2021). Discovered in 1986 (Maeda et al., 1987), HME is currently among the most prevalent life-threatening tick-borne zoonoses (Adams et al., 2017). HME diagnosis is challenging, as early signs and symptoms are indistinct or mimic other illnesses. No HME vaccine exists, and the only effective therapy is the broad-spectrum antibiotic doxycycline. However, treatment is often delayed (or even not initiated) owing to misdiagnosis or comorbidity with an unrelated underlying illness or injury, stress, immunosuppression, and/or co-infection with other tick-borne pathogens, which collectively can lead to severe complications or death, with a mortality rate of 1–5% among different populations (Paddock and Childs, 2003)....
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 14 January 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2021.830180
The “Biological Weapons” of Ehrlichia chaffeensis: Novel Molecules and Mechanisms to Subjugate Host Cells
Yasuko Rikihisa[SUP]*[/SUP]- Laboratory of Molecular, Cellular, and Environmental Rickettsiology, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
...
1 Introduction
Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick-borne Gram-negative obligatory intracellular bacterium of the family Anaplasmataceae in the order Rickettsiales. Infection causes severe flu-like febrile disease called human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), which is often accompanied by hematologic abnormalities and signs similar to those of hepatitis (Dawson et al., 1991; Paddock and Childs, 2003). Tick-borne diseases are on the rise (Biggs et al., 2016; Madison-Antenucci et al., 2020; Alkishe et al., 2021). Discovered in 1986 (Maeda et al., 1987), HME is currently among the most prevalent life-threatening tick-borne zoonoses (Adams et al., 2017). HME diagnosis is challenging, as early signs and symptoms are indistinct or mimic other illnesses. No HME vaccine exists, and the only effective therapy is the broad-spectrum antibiotic doxycycline. However, treatment is often delayed (or even not initiated) owing to misdiagnosis or comorbidity with an unrelated underlying illness or injury, stress, immunosuppression, and/or co-infection with other tick-borne pathogens, which collectively can lead to severe complications or death, with a mortality rate of 1–5% among different populations (Paddock and Childs, 2003)....
