Molecular survey of rickettsial agents in feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Hokkaido, Japan.

Rickettsial infection in feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Hokkaido, Japan was analyzed by molecular methods. Genus-specific nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis based on the Rickettsia citrate synthase (gltA) gene showed that 13 of 699 raccoons (1.9%) examined were positive for Rickettsia. Twelve of the 13 partial gltA sequence amplicons were successfully analyzed. The nucleotide sequence of one amplicon was identical to both Rickettsia heilongjiangensis and R. japonica, one was identical to R. felis, and the rest to R. helvetica. This is the first report on the detection of rickettsial agents in peripheral blood of raccoons.