title: Molecular survey of Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma infection of domestic cats in Japan.
abstract: The prevalence of Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma in 1764 DNA samples extracted from feline peripheral blood from all 47 prefectures in Japan was evaluated by screening real-time PCR, genus-specific PCR, and DNA nucleotide sequencing. The survey revealed that all cats were negative for Rickettsia infection. Two cats were positive for Ehrlichia or Anaplasma based on the screening PCR assay. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the partial 16S rRNA including the divergent region near the 3'-end revealed that the 2 positives were most similar to Anaplasma bovis with percent identities of 99.8% and 99.2%. This was the first detection of A. bovis DNA fragments in cats. Although these 2 cats showed stomatitis, both were also infected with feline immunodeficiency virus. The relationship between A. bovis carriage and clinical disease is not yet understood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro 080-8555, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Yoshimi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishigaki
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inokuma
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S