Serological survey of five zoonoses, scrub typhus, Japanese spotted fever, tularemia, Lyme disease, and Q fever, in feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Japan.
We investigated the seroprevalence of five tick- or mite-borne zoonoses, scrub typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi), Japanese spotted fever (Rickettsia japonica), tularemia (Francisella tularensis), Lyme disease (Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii), and Q fever (Coxiella burnetii), in feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) captured in Hokkaido and Kanagawa Prefectures in Japan. Of the 559 raccoons captured in Hokkaido, 8 (1.4%), 3 (0.5%), 1 (0.2%), and 1 (0.2%) carried antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi (Gilliam type), F. tularensis, B. afzelii, and B. garinii, respectively. Of the 193 animals investigated in Kanagawa, 31 (16.1%) and 14 (7.3%) carried antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi and R. japonica, respectively, and the major serotype (27/31) of O. tsutsugamushi was Kuroki. No antibodies against C. burnetii were detected in either area examined. Therefore, feral raccoons could be an indicator of the prevalence of these four tick- or mite-borne zoonoses in the peridomestic environment in Japan.
Inoue
Kai
K
Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan.
Kabeya
Hidenori
H
Fujita
Hiromi
H
Makino
Takashi
T
Asano
Makoto
M
Inoue
Satoshi
S
Inokuma
Hisashi
H
Nogami
Sadao
S
Maruyama
Soichi
S
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011821:Raccoons / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial