A relapsing fever group Borrelia sp is widely distributed among wild deer in Japan

作者：Kumagai Yumi^*; Sato Kozue; Taylor Kyle R; Zamoto Niikura Aya; Imaoka Koichi; Morikawa Shigeru; Ohnishi Makoto; Kawabata Hiroki^*

来源：Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases, 2018, 9(3): 465-470.

DOI：10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.12.016

• Hard tick-borne relapsing fever
• Borrelia theileri
• Borrelia lonestari
• Bacteremia
• Spirochetemia
• Wild deer

A relapsing fever group Borrelia sp. was detected from the blood of wild deer (Cervus nippon) in Japan. The Borrelia sp. was distributed nationwide among deer with an overall prevalence of 26% in blood samples. The prevalence of infection was significantly higher in fawns (48.4%) compared to adult deer (23.6%). Sequencing analysis reveals that this Borrelia sp. belongs to the hard tick-borne relapsing fever borreliae, and that it forms a single lineage based on sequences of the flagellin and glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase genes. Borrelial genome copy number was estimated at 8.8 x 10(3) genome copies/mu l of blood. Other hard tick-borne relapsing fever borrelia (e.g. Borrelia miyamotoi) were not detected in deer blood in this study. These findings suggest that wild deer may act as reservoirs for this Borrelia sp. in Japan.

• 出版日期2018-3