Seasonality of detection rate of <i>Escherichia albertii</i> in wild raccoons (<i>Procyon lotor</i>) in Osaka, Japan

Abstract

Escherichia albertii has increasingly been recognized as an important emerging zoonotic enteropathogen. Raccoon is shown to be one of the most vital reservoirs of this pathogen. E. albertii has been detected in 993 (62%) out of 1,606 wild raccoons in Osaka, Japan from 2017 to 2020 by Eacdt -PCR. The detection rate of E. albertii was increased from May to December (winter) and gradually decreased from January to April (spring). Furthermore, we could isolate E. albertii from 30% (196/664) of Eacdt -PCR positive samples and the monthly isolation rate seems to correlate with its detection rate. These data indicate that there is a seasonality regarding the prevalence of E. albertii in wild raccoon being higher in winter and lower in spring.