Molecular survey for Anaplasma bovis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in cattle in a pastureland where sika deer appear in Hokkaido, Japan.

Anaplasma bovis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection were examined by species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction in cattle in a pastureland where sika deer appear in Hokkaido, Japan. Of the 78 cattle examined, 12 (15%) and 1 (1%) tested positive for infection by A. bovis and A. phagocytophilum, respectively. One cattle tested positive for both. A. phagocytophilum infection rates were significantly lower in cattle than in sika deer (46%), but the infection rate by A. bovis was not significantly different between cattle (15%) and sika deer (23%). The strain of A. phagocytophilum detected in this study may possess significantly lower virulence or infectivity in cattle hosts. No clinical symptoms were recorded in the positive cattle, and morulae were not detected in the blood smears.