Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. are vector-borne zoonotic bacteria, which are clinically important especially in immunocompromised patients. There are large gaps in the current knowledge of their geographic distribution and prevalence in both their vectors and hosts. Our aim was to develop reliable and easy detection method for both these pathogens. We made a new hydrolysis probe based duplex Real-Time PCR assay based on previous studies. We optimized the assays and tested them to provide reliable recommended procedures with a sensitivity to a minimum of 10 target DNA copies per sample. The assays were designed to be specific for A. phagocytophilum and in the same reaction detect multiple species of rickettsiae. We designed gBlock quantification standards that provide the option to identify differences in pathogen load among different samples in subsequent studies.

CEITEC Central European Institute of Technology University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno Palackého tř 1946 1 612 42 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno Palackého tř 1946 1 612 42 Brno Czech Republic

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