title: Survey on tick-borne pathogens in thoroughbred horses in the Hidaka district, Hokkaido, Japan.
abstract: A total of 87 Thoroughbred horses and 10 ixodid ticks from a ranch in Hidaka district, Hokkaido were tested for tick-borne diseases. Using the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) method, 3.4, 92.0 and 97.7% of the horses showed antibody titers of ≥ 80 against Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia helvetica, and Borrelia garinii, respectively. This is the first report of infection with the 3 pathogens in horses in Japan. Using PCR, DNAs from the peripheral blood of all horses were found negative with any Anaplasma, Rickettsia and Borrelia spp., while those from Haemaphysalis megaspinosa ticks were found positive for Anaplasma sp. closely related to A. phagocytophilum in Japan, and A. bovis. B. japonica was also detected in an H. flava tick for the first time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Science, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Adrian Patalinghug
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ybañez
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nambo
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masuzawa
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inokuma
mesh_terms: D041081:Anaplasma phagocytophilum / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000235:genetics; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000662:veterinary; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D006736:Horses; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*