title: Anaplasma marginale infection in a Japanese Black cow 13 years after eradication of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus in Okinawa, Japan.
abstract: In October 2007, a 15-year-old Japanese Black cow on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan, was diagnosed with Anaplasma marginale infection based on clinical symptoms, blood examination, smear observation, 16S rRNA and groEL gene sequence analysis, and the result of a CF test. The cow was introduced into the farm from mainland Japan as a calf in 1993, one year before the eradication of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, the main vector of A. marginale in Okinawa Prefecture. It is possible that the cow was first infected with A. marginale as a calf in Ishigaki Island and had been persistently infected since then. This is the first reported clinical case of A. marginale infection of cattle since the eradication of R. microplus in Okinawa Prefecture. Additional analysis of major surface protein 1alpha amino acid sequences revealed that the A. marginale Okinawa strain presented four new repeat forms which were not seen in other strains. This indicates that the Okinawa strain may be a unique geographical variant of A. marginale.
authors.affiliation: Okinawa Prefectural Institute of Animal Health, Naha, Okinawa 900-0024, Japan.
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ooshiro
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zakimi
authors.forename: Yoshimasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsukawa
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yafuso
authors.forename: Yoshito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Katagiri
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inokuma
mesh_terms: D042322:Anaplasma marginale / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D007564:Japan; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D048494:Rhipicephalus / Q000382:microbiology*; D013983:Tick Control
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S