Reservoir competence of the vole, Clethrionomys rufocanus bedfordiae, for Borrelia garinii or Borrelia afzelii.
In autumn of 1994 and spring of 1995, we examined Borrelia infection among Microtinae voles, Clethrionomys rufocanus bedfordiae, in Hokkaido, Japan. In BSK culturing of the earlobe tissues of 45 C. rufocanus bedfordiae captured, twelve rodents were positive for Borrelia. Eight isolates were used for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. According to the results, these isolates were classified into B. garinii or B. afzelii. It is considered that a common vole, C. rufocanus bedfordiae, plays a significant role in the transmission and maintenance of B. garinii and B. afzelii, similar to the role of Apodemus speciosus mice.
Ishiguro
F
F
Fukui Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Japan.
Takada
N
N
Nakata
K
K
Yano
Y
Y
Suzuki
H
H
Masuzawa
T
T
Yanagihara
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000382:microbiology*; D001898:Borrelia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length