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Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in an Endemic Environment: Wild Sika Deer ( Cervus nippon yesoensis ) with Infected Ticks and Antibodies
Author(s) -
Isogai Emiko,
Isogai Hiroshi,
Masuzawa Toshiyuki,
Postic Daniele,
Baranton Guy,
Kamewaka Yuri,
Kimura Koichi,
Nishikawa Takeshi,
Fujii Nobuhiro,
Ishii Norihisa,
Ohno Shigeaki,
Yamaguti Noboru
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1996.tb03311.x
Subject(s) - biology , cervus , veterinary medicine , borrelia , odocoileus , ixodes persulcatus , borrelia burgdorferi , borrelia garinii , antibody , virology , zoology , tick , immunology , medicine
Ticks and blood samples were collected from wild sika deer ( Cervus nippon yesoensis ) during a hunting season (August to October) of 1991 at a selected location in Hokkaido, Japan. Ixodes persulcatus (adult and nymph) and I. ovatus (adult) were the common ticks on sika deer. Spirochetes were detected in the midgut of the ticks by the indirect peroxidase‐conjugated antibody staining method and by dark‐field microscopy after cultivation. By the reactive pattern of monoclonal antibodies, isolates were considered to belong to Borrelia garinii or B. japonica . In an antibody test, the percentage of seropositive deer was 69.0%. Most of the adult sika deer were positive for antibodies to the spirochetes. There are significant age‐dependency in antibody level and seropositive rate. The surveillance of deer should be valuable in monitoring the transmission risk of B. burgdorferi sensu lato in nature.