Molecular Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Larvae of Haemaphysalis longicornis in Ibaraki, Japan

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Vol. 72; no. 6; pp. 423 - 425
• Main Authors: Fukui, Yuichi, Inokuma, Hisashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Editorial Committee 2019; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Anaplasma phagocytophilum - genetics; Anaplasma phagocytophilum - isolation & purification; Anaplasmosis; Animals; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Dogs; Ehrlichiosis - microbiology; Ehrlichiosis - transmission; Ehrlichiosis - veterinary; Haemaphysalis longicornis; Homology; Ixodidae - microbiology; Japan; Larva - microbiology; Larvae; Male; Polymerase chain reaction; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Ticks; Vectors; Japan; Anaplasma phagocytophilum; larvae; Haemaphysalis longicornis
• ISSN: 1344-6304; 1884-2836; 1884-2836
• DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2019.076

We collected 1,084 ticks by flagging vegetation in Tsukuba and Moriya (Ibaraki, Japan), where several cases of canine granulocytic anaplasmosis were reported. The DNA of the collected ticks was molecularly examined for infection with the family Anaplasmataceae. Twenty-six positive samples of Anaplasmataceae-specific PCR of partial 16S rRNA gene were subjected to semi-nested PCR, covering the divergent regions, the gene, and sequence analysis. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in 3 pools of Haemaphysalis longicornis larvae and A. bovis from a H. flava male. Sequences of both amplicons had high homologies to those from dogs in our previous studies in Ibaraki. These results suggest that Haemaphysalis ticks are candidate vectors of A. phagocytophilum and A. bovis in Ibaraki, Japan.