Molecular detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from larvae of Haemophysalis longicornis in Ibaraki, Japan

Abstract

DNA from 1084 ticks collected by flagging in vegetation in Tsukuba and Moriya (Ibaraki, Japan), where several cases of canine granulocytic anaplasmosis were found, 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 three pools of Haemophysalis longicornis larvae, and Anaplasma bovis from a Haemophysalis flava male. Sequences of both amplicons had highest homologies to those from dogs in our previous studies in Ibaraki, respectively. These results suggest that genus Haemophysalis ticks are the candidate vectors of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma bovis in Ibaraki, Japan.