Detection of Borrelia DNA in Tick Species Collected from Vegetation and Wild Animals in Fukuoka, Japan

We screened for the presence of Borrelia spp. in ticks collected from vegetation by flagging and from wild animals between May 2017 and November 2018 in Fukuoka, located in the northern Kyushu region of Japan. A total of 1,601 ticks were collected and separated based on morphology into nine species, namely Ixodes turdus, I. ovatus, Amblyomma testudinarium, Haemaphysalis flava, H. formosensis, H. kitaokai, H. longicornis, H. hystricis, and H. megaspinosa. The ticks were segregated into 561 pools and nested PCR was used to detect borrelial DNA. Borrelia turdi and Borrelia sp. HM were identified in two of the 561 pools. This is the first report of the presence of the Lyme disease group of Borrelia and of the relapsing fever group of Borrelia in Fukuoka, Japan.