title: A relapsing fever group Borrelia sp. similar to Borrelia lonestari found among wild sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) and Haemaphysalis spp. ticks in Hokkaido, Japan.
abstract: A relapsing fever Borrelia sp. similar to Borrelia lonestari (herein referred to as B. lonestari-like) was detected from wild sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) and Haemaphysalis ticks in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan. The total prevalence of this Borrelia sp. in tested deer blood samples was 10.6% using conventional PCR and real-time PCR. The prevalence was significantly higher in deer fawns compared to adults (21.9% and 9.4%, respectively). Additionally, there was significant regional difference between our two sampling areas, Shiretoko and Shibetsu with 17% and 2.8% prevalence, respectively. Regional differences were also found in tick species collected from field and on deer. In the Shiretoko region, Haemaphysalis spp. were more abundant than Ixodes spp., while in Shibetsu, Ixodes spp. were more abundant. Using real-time PCR analysis, B. lonestari-like was detected from 2 out of 290 adult Haemaphysalis spp. ticks and 4 out of 76 pools of nymphs. This is the first report of a B. lonestari-like organism in Haemaphysalis spp. ticks, and the first phylogenetic analysis of this B. lonestari-like organism in Asia. Based on our results, Haemaphysalis spp. are the most likely candidates to act as a vector for B. lonestari-like; furthermore, regional variation of B. lonestari-like prevalence in sika deer may be dependent on the population distribution of these ticks.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wildlife Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyunglee
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wildlife Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sashika
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wildlife Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Michito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimozuru
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Disease, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Konnai
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology-1, National Institute of Infectious Disease, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wildlife Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. Electronic address: tsubota@vetmed.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsubota
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001898:Borrelia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003670:Deer / Q000382:microbiology*; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009758:Nymph; D010802:Phylogeny; D012061:Relapsing Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Borrelia lonestari-like; Haemaphysalis spp.; Hokkaido; Sika deer; Ticks