Name: Ehrlichia phagocytophila (Foggie 1949) Philip 1962 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Rickettsia phagocytophila" Foggie 1949

Etymology: pha.go.cy.to’phi.la. N.L. neut. n. phagocytum, a phagocyte; from Gr. inf. v. phageîn, to eat up, devour; from Gr. neut. n. kytos, hollow, a vessel and, in biology, a cell; from N.L. fem. adj. suff. -phila, friend, loving; N.L. fem. adj. phagocytophila, phagocytes loving, intended to mean attractive to phagocytes

Pronunciation, gender: p^ha-go-ky-TO-p^hi-la, feminine

Type strain: no culture isolated; Webster

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: U02521 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Philip CB. Appendix G. Summary of tickborne rickettsioses. Report 2nd Meeting FAOIE Expert Panel on Tick-borne Diseases of Livestock, Cairo. United Nations, Rome, 1962.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: synonym (and not recommended for medical use)

Correct name: Anaplasma phagocytophilum corrig. (Foggie 1949) Dumler et al. 2001

Risk group: 2

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    Anaplasma phagocytophila (Foggie 1949) Dumler et al. 2001	homotypic synonym, inaccurate spelling
    "Rickettsia phagocytophila" Foggie 1949	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Ehrlichia equi Lewis et al. 1988	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Anaplasma phagocytophilum corrig. (Foggie 1949) Dumler et al. 2001	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Notes:
  • ⏰ According to Dumler et al. (2001), this species is an earlier heterotypic synonym of Ehrlichia equi Lewis et al. 1988. Publication: Dumler JS, Barbet AF, Bekker CP, Dasch GA, Palmer GH, Ray SC, Rikihisa Y, Rurangirwa FR. Reorganization of genera in the families Rickettsiaceae and Anaplasmataceae in the order Rickettsiales: unification of some species of Ehrlichia with Anaplasma, Cowdria with Ehrlichia and Ehrlichia with Neorickettsia, descriptions of six new species combinations and designation of Ehrlichia equi and 'HGE agent' as subjective synonyms of Ehrlichia phagocytophila. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2001; 51:2145-2165.
  • ❗ Ehrlichia phagocytophila is the correct name instead if this species is regarded as a separate species (i.e., if its nomenclatural type is not assigned to another species whose name is validly published, legitimate and not rejected and has priority) within a separate genus Ehrlichia.
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 2". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 3 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 3". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "PV". — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "ht". — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 158 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🙅 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as a synonym of the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.
  • 🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen. Publication: Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology (Reading) 2022; 168:0.
  • 🧍 In the Approved Lists 1980, no type strain was designated (no culture isolated). However, several strains have been isolated since the Approved Lists 1980. According to Rule 18f, Dumler et al. 2001 designated the strain Webster as the type strain of the new combination Anaplasma phagocytophilum (see below). Publication: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Parent taxon: Ehrlichia Moshkovski 1945 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Philip CB. Appendix G. Summary of tickborne rickettsioses. Report 2nd Meeting FAOIE Expert Panel on Tick-borne Diseases of Livestock, Cairo. United Nations, Rome, 1962.

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Record number: 783761