Abstract
A serological survey of Lyme borreliosis in horses in Japan was conducted with the immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test and fluorescent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (fluorescent ELISA). Of 700 horse sera, mostly from draught horses from 14 districts of Hokkaido, 32 (4.6%) had positive IFA titers of ≥1:32. Of the 14 districts, higher positive antibody rates were detected in the 4 districts of Kushiro, Tokachi, Abashiri and Kamikawa compared to the other districts. The sera from these 4 districts were examined with fluorescent ELISA and the antibody titers were expressed as the relative fluorescent signal (%RS). The %RS values were compared with IFA titers in each sera. Cutoff points for positive antibody were set as 1:32 for IFA and 2 for %RS of fluorescent ELISA. Of 549 sera from light horses from different localities of Japan, 14 (2.6%), were positive by a fluorescent ELISA.
