First clinical case of canine granulocytic anaplasmosis in Korea and genotypic analyses of Anaplasma phagocytophilum

A 2-year-old male Jindo dog was presented to a local veterinary clinic for anorexia, lethargy, edema around neck, and vomiting. Based on the clinical history, physical examination, hematology, blood chemistry, serology, and PCR, the dog was diagnosed with canine granulocytic anaplasmosis (CGA). PCR and phylogenetic analyses targeting the 16S rRNA, groEL, and msp2 genes of Anaplasma phagocytophilum revealed that the A. phagocytophilum identified in this study subgrouped into alanine and USA groups according to the groEL and msp2 gene sequences, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical case of CGA in Korea. In addition, detection of clinical CGA belonging to the alanine group is meaningful because only A. phagocytophilum belonging to the serine group has been reported to develop clinical signs.