{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T06:07:46Z","timestamp":1788934066090,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Wild animals play a crucial role in the maintenance of tick-borne pathogens, acting as reservoir and sentinel hosts within natural ecosystems. The ongoing expansion of tick populations across Europe has intensified the circulation of zoonotic tick-borne pathogens, including\n                    <jats:italic>Anaplasma phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Although the epidemiology of this bacterium has been extensively investigated in domestic animals and small wild mammals, the contribution of large omnivores such as the brown bear (\n                    <jats:italic>Ursus arctos<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) remains poorly understood, particularly with respect to their exposure to genetically distinct lineages with zoonotic potential, which requires further molecular characterization. This study aimed to determine the detection rate of\n                    <jats:italic>Anaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. in free-ranging brown bears (n = 76) and to molecularly characterize detected\n                    <jats:italic>A. phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>\n                    isolates regarding their potentially zoonotic lineages. Spleen and liver samples were screened for\n                    <jats:italic>Anaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. by nested PCR targeting the\n                    <jats:italic>16S rRNA<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene, with subsequent molecular characterization focused on\n                    <jats:italic>groEL<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene and\n                    <jats:italic>ankA<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene. In total, 8 out of 76 samples were positive for\n                    <jats:italic>Anaplasma<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp., corresponding to a PCR detection rate of 10.53% (95% CI: 4.7\u201319.7%), with subsequent sequence analysis confirming the presence of\n                    <jats:italic>A. phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Phylogenetic reconstruction based on\n                    <jats:italic>groEL<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>ankA<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene fragments allowed classification of the isolates into known European genetic lineages. This research confirms\n                    <jats:italic>A. phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>\n                    exposure within the Slovak brown bear populations, identifying genetic variants relevant to public and veterinary health. These results suggest that brown bears may be exposed to\n                    <jats:italic>A. phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>\n                    and could potentially play a role in its enzootic cycle, though further studies are needed.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2026.1890676","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T06:00:25Z","timestamp":1788933625000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Molecular detection and phylogenetic characterization of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Slovakia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Krist\u00edna","family":"Hud\u00e1kov\u00e1","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mari\u00e1n","family":"Proke\u0161","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monika","family":"Dr\u00e1\u017eovsk\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Petrou\u0161kov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katar\u00edna","family":"Frankov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"L\u00fddia","family":"Gogo\u013eov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alica","family":"Pavlov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maro\u0161","family":"Kosti\u010d\u00e1k","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jakub","family":"Lipinsk\u00fd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u013dubo\u0161","family":"Koryt\u00e1r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ladislav","family":"Moln\u00e1r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic of Birds, Exotic and Free Living Animals, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Boris","family":"Vojtek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Ko\u0161ice","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zuzana","family":"Hurn\u00edkov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tetiana","family":"Kuzmina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences","place":["Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"]},{"name":"I. 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