Borrelia japonica in Nature: Genotypic Identification of Spirochetes Isolated from Japanese Small Mammals

Spirochetes were isolated from earlobe tissues of shrews (Sorex unguiculatus, Sorex caecutiens, and Crocidura dsinezumi), voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus), and mice (Apodemus argenteus and Apodemus speciosus) captured in various localities in Japan. The isolates were identified as Borrelia japonica by rRNA gene restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The data suggest that these small mammals are candidates of reservoir hosts for B. japonica.