Epidemiological survey for Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamydia psittaci var. ovis, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp., leptospirosis and Orf virus among sheep from northern districts of Japan.

A serological survey was carried out in the northern prefectures of Hokkaido, Iwate and Aomori in Japan, for the presence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamydiapsittaci var. ovis, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp., Leptospirosis and Orf virus (ORFV). Out of 267 samples tested, highest overall prevalence (28.78%) was found for T. gondii. The 12.59% of tested sheep were positive for C. psittaci var. ovis. A total of 8.67% were found to be seropositive for C. burnetii. Levels of these infections were found in all three prefectures. Seroconversion to ORFV was detected in Hokkaido and Iwate Prefectures (2.57%). Animals were positive only for L. ballum (1.50%), in Hokkaido and Aomori Prefectures. No animals tested positive for Brucella spp. and M. paratuberculosis.