This section is dedicated to obligate intracellular bacteria causing vector-borne tick-borne infections — anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis. We will examine the taxonomy of the family Anaplasmataceae, unique structural and life cycle features of these microorganisms, as well as the mechanisms of their survival inside host cells.
Special attention is paid to the pathogenesis of the diseases. You will learn how the pathogens enter the body via a tick bite, multiply with the formation of characteristic microcolonies (morulae) in leukocytes, and trigger systemic inflammatory responses.
In microbiology seminars and exams, examiners most frequently ask about the differences in the life cycles of anaplasmas and ehrlichiae compared to other intracellular parasites, the features of their cell wall, and specific target cells: remember that Anaplasma phagocytophilum primarily infects granulocytes, while Ehrlichia chaffeensis infects monocytes.