Characterization of " Ehrlichia Pampeana" in Ticks and Gray Brocket Deer () from Uruguay.

Human ehrlichiosis are scantily documented in Uruguay. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of spp. in and in a gray brocket deer () from Uruguay. The presence of DNA was investigated in free-living in five localities of southeast and northeast Uruguay, as well as blood, spleen, and ticks retrieved from a . spp. DNA was detected in six out of 99 tick pools from vegetation, in the spleen of and in one out of five pools of ticks feeding on this cervid. Bayesian inference analyses for three loci ( rRNA, and ) revealed the presence of a new rickettsial organism, named herein as " Ehrlichia pampeana". This new detected is phylogenetically related to those found in ticks from Asia, as well as from USA and Cameroon. Although the potential pathogenicity of ". E. pampeana" for humans is currently unknown, some eco-epidemiological factors may be relevant to its possible pathogenic role, namely: (i) the phylogenetic closeness with the zoonotic agent , (ii) the evidence of parasitizing humans, and (iii) the importance of cervids as reservoirs for zoonotic spp. The molecular detection of " E. pampeana" represents the third genotype described in Uruguay.