title: Detection of Borrelia garinii, Borrelia tanukii and Borrelia sp. closely related to Borrelia valaisiana in Ixodes ticks removed from dogs and cats in Japan.
abstract: Ticks removed from 1136 dogs and 134 cats all over Japan were examined for Borrelia infection by PCR and sequencing. The 5S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer of Borrelia was detected from two Ixodes persulcatus ticks from two dogs and two unidentified Ixodes spp. from another two dogs in Hokkaido, and two Ixodes granulatus ticks from two cats in Okinawa. Additional 2 I. granulatus from the same cats also showed positive. Sequence analysis of the PCR products revealed that the one from Hokkaido was similar to B. garinii, the three from Hokkaido to B. tanukii, and the four from Okinawa to a novel Borrelia sp. closely related to B. valaisiana. The data was confirmed by analysis of the flagellin gene sequence. Infected ticks carried by companion animals can be introduced into the human environment.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hiraoka
authors.forename: Yojiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Yoshimi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Malaika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itamoto
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masuzawa
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inokuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001898:Borrelia / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D002415:Cats; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005408:Flagellin / Q000235:genetics; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D007564:Japan; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D005408:Flagellin