What is Anaplasma phagocytophilum DNA?
Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligate intracellular, Gram-negative bacterium transmitted by Ixodes ticks that preferentially infects neutrophils, forming intracytoplasmic morulae visible on blood films during acute infection. The organism disrupts neutrophil apoptosis and oxidative killing, enabling its survival and replication within the phagosome. Bacteraemia peaks during the first week of illness, coinciding with fever and non-specific systemic symptoms, and DNA circulates in whole blood during this acute window before the adaptive immune response clears the organism.