title: Serological survey of Borrelia infection of dogs in Sapporo, Japan, where Borrelia garinii infection was previously detected.
abstract: A serological survey of Borrelia infection of dogs was performed in Sapporo, Japan, where Borrelia garinii infection in dogs was detected in 2011. A total of 314 serum samples were collected from dogs that visited three animal hospitals in Sapporo from 2012 to 2014. The two-step evaluation method, involving screening ELISA followed by Western blot analysis, was used to detect antibodies against Borrelia species. A total of 34 samples were positive by ELISA. Among those 34 samples, 32 were positive for Borrelia spp. by Western blot. These findings suggest that the 32 dogs (10.2%) generated antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, such as B. garinii or B. afzelii. Antibody positivity was 7.6% and 13.3% for dogs living in urban and rural areas, respectively. Dogs with a history of tick infestation showed a positive rate of 16.7%, which was higher, although not significantly, than the 6.7% among dogs without a history.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uesaka
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maezawa
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inokuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D004285:Dogs; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies