Helminthic transmission and isolation of Ehrlichia risticii, the causative agent of Potomac horse fever, by using trematode stages from freshwater stream snails

Abstract

We report successful helminthic transmission of Ehrlichia risticii, the causative agent of Potomac horse fever, using trematode stages collected from Juga yrekaensis snails. The ehrlichial agent was isolated from the blood of experimentally infected horses by culture in murine monocytic cells and identified as E. risticii ultrastructurally and by characterization of three different genes.