Tick species and tick-borne rickettsiae confirmed by the year of 2012 in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

In a review of previous reports and our original data by the year of 2012, we confirmed three genera and 15 species of ticks, and five species of tick-borne rickettsiae in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Tick species were Argas japonicus, A. vespertilionis, Haemaphysalis flava, H. japonica, H. longicornis, H. megaspinosa, Ixodes angustus, I. columnae, I. monospinosus, I. nipponensis, I. ovatus, I. persulcatus, I. tanuki, I. turdus and I. vespertilionis. Tick-borne rickettsiae were ‘Candidatus Ehrlichia ovata' from I. ovatus, Rickettsia asiatica from I. ovatus, R. helvetica from I. columnae, Rickettsia sp. In56 from I. nipponensis and Rickettsia sp. LON from H. longicornis.