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Anaplasmataceae DNA Found in 3% of 537 German Red Foxes

Red fox in Germany
Research: Disease, parasites & microbiology, Genetics & genomics

DNA from bacteria in the family Anaplasmataceae was found in 15 of 537 red fox (Vulpes vulpes) spleen samples from three regions in Germany, corresponding to about 3% of the animals tested. Several Anaplasmataceae are transmitted by arthropod vectors such as ticks. The researchers examined red foxes as potential sentinels — animals that can help indicate whether vector-borne bacteria are circulating in an area. Samples came from Berlin, Brandenburg and the Arnsberg administrative region.

The researchers used PCR to detect bacterial DNA. A positive result therefore shows that genetic material from the bacteria was present in the spleen sample; it does not by itself show whether the fox was clinically ill or whether viable bacteria could have been isolated.

Candidatus Neoehrlichia sp. FU98 was detected most frequently, in nine samples (1.7%). Anaplasma phagocytophilum was found in five samples (0.9%), while a previously undescribed Ehrlichia genotype was detected in two samples (0.4%). Rickettsia spp. were not detected. A. phagocytophilum occurred at low prevalence in all three study regions, whereas FU98 was found in Berlin and Brandenburg but not Arnsberg. The authors describe these as the first detections of FU98 in Germany.

The unknown Ehrlichia sequences came from one fox in Berlin and one in Brandenburg. The researchers say the newly detected agent still needs to be isolated and studied to clarify its phylogenetic position, geographic distribution, possible vector and host range.

Sources and image credit

  1. Eggersmann, A., Schenk, T., Schulze, C., Peters, M., von Samson-Himmelstjerna, G., & Krücken, J. (2026). Detection of Ehrlichia spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia sp. (FU98) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Germany.Primary research article published 2 September 2026. PCR screening of 537 red fox spleen samples from Berlin, Brandenburg and the Arnsberg administrative region found Anaplasmataceae DNA in 15 samples (3.0%). Candidatus Neoehrlichia sp. FU98 was detected in nine samples, Anaplasma phagocytophilum in five and a previously undescribed Ehrlichia genotype in two; Rickettsia spp. were not detected. The authors report this as the first detection of FU98 in Germany.

Image: Two juvenile red foxes in Germany, photographed 19 May 2014. Photo: Andreas Trepte / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.5. Representative species image; not animals from the study. · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Source

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