Nakao M, Miyamoto K
Department of Parasitology, Asahikawa Medical College, Hokkaido, Japan.
J Clin Microbiol. 1995 Feb;33(2):490-2. doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.2.490-492.1995.
The wood mouse (Apodemus speciosus) serves as a wildlife reservoir for Lyme disease spirochetes in Hokkaido, Japan. To isolate Borrelia species, we captured 34 wood mice in an area where Borrelia species are endemic during October 1993. The earlobes (right and left), heart, spleen, and urinary bladder from each mouse were used as culture sources. As a result of culture 73 isolates from 21 mice were classified by rRNA gene restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Ribotype groups III (Borrelia afzelii) and IV (unknown species) were detected among those isolates. Thirty-one (77.5%) of 40 earlobe isolates were classified as group IV. In contrast, 6 (40.0%) of 15 heart isolates, 5 (50.0%) of 10 spleen isolates, and 7 (87.5%) of 8 urinary bladder isolates were B. afzelii. Seven mice showed mixed infection with B. afzelii and group IV. The data indicate that different Borrelia species can coexist in a reservoir host that is suitable for them.
日本北海道地区的木鼠(Apodemus speciosus)是莱姆病螺旋体的野生动物宿主。为了分离疏螺旋体属物种,我们于1993年10月在疏螺旋体属物种流行的地区捕获了34只木鼠。每只小鼠的耳垂(左右)、心脏、脾脏和膀胱用作培养源。通过rRNA基因限制性片段长度多态性分析,对21只小鼠培养出的73个分离株进行了分类。在这些分离株中检测到了核糖体型III组(阿氏疏螺旋体)和IV组(未知物种)。40个耳垂分离株中有31个(77.5%)被归类为IV组。相比之下,15个心脏分离株中有6个(40.0%)、10个脾脏分离株中有5个(50.0%)以及8个膀胱分离株中有7个(87.5%)为阿氏疏螺旋体。7只小鼠显示出阿氏疏螺旋体和IV组的混合感染。数据表明,不同的疏螺旋体属物种可以在适合它们的宿主中共存。