We report Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection of Ixodes persulcatus and I. ovatus ticks in Japan. Unique p44/msp2 paralogs (and/or 16S rRNA genes) were detected in tick tissues, salivary glands, and spleens of experimentally infected mice. These findings indicate the public health threat of anaplasmosis in Japan.
ABSTRACT. To evaluate the diversity of extended-spectrum -lactamases (ESBL) genes among food-producing animals, 48 isolates of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli isolates were obtained from rectal samples of broilers, layers, beef cattle and pigs, at the slaughterhouse level. ESBL-carrying E. coli were isolated from 60.0% of individual broiler rectal samples, 5.9% of layers, 12.5% of beef cattle and 3% of pigs. One ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from a broiler. The ESBL-positive E. coli isolates from broilers harbored various ESBL genes: bla , bla CTX-M-2 , bla CTX-M-14 , bla CTX-M-15 and bla CTX-M-44 . The plasmid DNAs were analyzed by restriction patterns. Homogeneous band patterns were yielded in those of K. pneumoniae and E. coli isolates harboring the bla CTX-M-2 gene from different farms. No genetic relation between the 2 CTX-M-14 ESBL-producing strains was found by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, although 2 plasmids in these strains, obtained from different broiler farms, were similar to each other. This study provides evidence that the proliferation of CTX-M-producing E. coli is due to the growth of indigenous CTX-M-producing strains and the possible emergence of strains that acquired CTX-M genes by horizontal transfer in different broiler farms. CTX-M-producing coliforms in broilers should be controlled due to the critical importance of cephalosporins and the zoonotic potential of ESBL-producing bacteria.
EHEC O157:H7 clade 6 strains harboring stx2a and/or stx2c and clade 8 strains harboring stx2a or stx2a/stx2c were frequently associated with childhood HUS cases in Japan. Rapid and specific detection of such lineages are required for infection control measures.
A total of 293 ticks and 111 wild rodents that were collected in Shizuoka and Nagano Prefectures, Japan, were examined for infection of Ehrlichia species and ‘Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis.’ The 16S rDNA or the omp‐1 gene of these bacterial DNAs were detected from the spleens of tick‐inoculated mice (5 positive/total 29 mice) or from the spleens of wild rodents (25 positive/total 111 rodents) by PCR amplification. Sequencing of the 16S rDNA revealed Ehrlichia spp. from the 5 tick‐inoculated mice and 8 wild rodents, and ‘Candidatus N. mikurensis’ from 17 wild rodents. The data suggest the presence of additional genetic variants, and potential vectors and/or reservoirs for these bacteria in central Japan.
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