Anaplasma sparouinense

Anaplasma sparouinense was first detected in a 58-year-old man living in the rainforest of French Guiana. The patient had a history of splenectomy due to malaria attacks caused by Plasmodium vivax and showed anemia upon initial exam. Examination of the patient's Giemsa-stained blood film taken for malaria diagnosis revealed the presence of intraerythrocytic bodies. Sequencing analysis found the organism was most closely related to Candidatus Anaplasma amazonensis, a bacteria which infects sloths and cats.^[2]

Unlike the type species of its genus, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which primarily infects neutrophils, A. sparouinense appears to infect red blood cells.^[3]