Article ID: JJID.2015.003
We surveyed Rickettsiales bacteria including Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Neoehrlichia in wild sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon) in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. In spleen samples from 187 deer, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (deer type), A. bovis, and A. centrale were successfully detected by PCR assay targeted to 16S rDNA or p44/msp2, and their positive rates were 96.3% (180/187), 53.5% (100/187), and 78.1% (146/187), respectively. Additionally, two or three Anaplasma species could be detected from a single deer in 165 spleen samples (88.2%), indicating the dual or triple infection in deer. In contrast, A. phagocytophilum (human type) 16S rDNA, Rickettsia gltA, Ehrlichia p28/omp-1, and Neoehrlichia 16S rDNA could not be amplified. The serological test with 105 deer serum samples by immunofluorescence assay showed that the detection of antibodies against antigens of A. phagocytophilum HZ (US-human isolate) and Rickettsia japonica YH were 29.5% (31/105) and 75.2% (79/105), respectively. These findings suggest that A. phagocytophilum (deer type), A. centrale, followed by A. bovis are highly dominated and prevalent in wild sika deer in Shizuoka, a middle part of Japan, and the antibodies against some Rickettsiales bacteria has also been retained in deer blood.
