Molecular epidemiology of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the East Asia.

1996年至1998年，我们在俄罗斯远东、中国和韩国进行了一项调查，从蜱和野生啮齿动物中分离出疏螺旋体。这些分离株的特点和鉴定的各种分子分型方法和测序分析。在中国东北部和俄罗斯远东，全沟硬蜱是一种主要的媒介，携带B。afzelii和B. garinii。远东类型的B。在欧洲没有发现，与日本北海道和韩国北方的分布相似。这一发现表明疏螺旋体在日本、俄罗斯远东和中国东北之间传播。然而，有一个区别应该指出，在韩国北方部分，我。日本血吸虫具有传播B的能力。afzelii和B. garinii。有趣的是，从朝鲜半岛半岛南端收集的蜱分离株被鉴定为B。在我国南方长江流域，包柔螺旋体属分离自I. valaisiana。颗粒岛ovatus、黑线姬鼠（Apodemus agrarius）和Niviventer物种。大多数分离株被鉴定为B。valaisiana，与韩国分离物相似。但与欧洲B型相比，疏螺旋体属的ospA类型不同。valaisiana，表明疏螺旋体属物种是分歧的。此外，四川和安徽省的部分分离株具有独特性，其16 S rRNA基因序列相似性在99.8 ~ 100%之间，在系统发育树上相互聚为一簇，但与莱姆病螺旋体的16 S rRNA基因序列相似性小于99.0。因此，我们推测，B. valaisiana在I.欧洲的蓖麻适应了蜱I。granulatus，中国中部的一种I. nipponensis和I.日本的圆柱。此外，中国中部存在独特的疏螺旋体物种。

We conducted a survey to isolate Borrelia from ticks and wild rodents in far eastern Russia, China, and Korea between 1996 and 1998. These isolates were characterized and identified by various molecular typing methods and sequencing analysis. In northeastern China and far eastern Russia, Ixodes persulcatus was a prominent vector and carried B. afzelii and B. garinii. The far eastern type of B. garinii was the dominant species in this area but was not found in Europe, similar to the distribution seen in Hokkaido, Japan and northern part of the South Korea. The finding indicate the transmission of Borrelia between Japan, and far eastern Russia and northeastern China. However, one difference should be point out ; in northern part of South Korea, I. nipponensis has the ability to transmit B. afzelii and B. garinii. Interestingly, isolates from the ticks collected in the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula were identified as B. valaisiana.In southern China beside the Yangze river valley, Borrelia was isolated from I. granulatus, I. ovatus, and Apodemus agrarius and Niviventer species. Most isolates were identified as B. valaisiana and were similar to the isolates from Korea. However, the group of Borrelia has different type of ospA in comparison with those of European B. valaisiana, indicating that the Borrelia species is divergent. Furthermore, some isolates from Sichuan and Anhui provinces were unique and 16S rRNA gene sequences of these Borrelia species showed similarity values ranging from 99.8 to 100% and clustered with each other on phylogenetic tree, but they were less than 99.0 with those of previously described Lyme disease Borrelia species. Therefore, we speculated that the B. valaisiana found in I. ricinus in Europe was adapted to the tick I. granulatus in central China, I. nipponensis in the southern tip of Korea, and I. columnae in Japan. Furthermore, unique Borrelia species are present in central China.