Tick surveillance for Borrelia miyamotoi and phylogenetic analysis of isolates in Mongolia and Japan.

Borrelia miyamotoi, recently recognized as a human pathogenic spirochete, was isolated from Ixodes persulcatus and I. ovatus in northern Mongolia and Honshu Island, a major island in Japan. Although no human B. miyamotoi infections have been reported in Mongolia, the prevalence of B. miyamotoi in ticks from Mongolia is higher than that in ticks from Hokkaido, Japan, where human cases have been reported. Moreover, the multi-locus sequence analysis of cultured isolates revealed that B. miyamotoi isolates in Mongolia belong to the Siberian type, a sequence type that was originally reported from isolates from I. persulcatus in Hokkaido. Thus, there is a possibility of unrecognized human B. miyamotoi infections in Mongolia. Moreover our data support the hypothesis of clonal expansion of the Siberian type B. miyamotoi. In contrast, although the isolates were found to belong to the Siberian type B. miyamotoi, two isolates from I. persulcatus in Honshu Island were identified to be of a different sequence type. Furthermore, B. miyamotoi isolates from I. ovatus were distinguishable from those from I. ricinus complex ticks, according to genetic analysis. In this study, we show that there may be some genetic diversity among B. miyamotoi in ticks from Honshu Island.

[Simultaneous determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics in milk by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry].

A multiresidue method was developed for determination of nine aminoglycoside antibiotics (streptomycin, dihydrostreptomycin, spectinomycin, neomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, destomycin A, apramycin, and tobramycin) in milk by LC/MS/MS. The drugs were extracted with 0.01 mol/L potassium dihydrogen phosphate containing 2% trichloroacetic acid, and the extracted solution was cleaned on cation-exchange cartridge columns (Oasis WCX and Oasis MCX). LC separation was performed on a TSK-gel VMpak25 column (50 mmx2.0 mm i.d.) using gradient elution with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase. Recoveries of the drugs spiked at 0.01 or 0.1 microg/g in milk ranged from 66.1 to 110.8%, with a coefficient of variation of less than 17.1%. Limits of quantification of the drugs in milk were 0.001 approximately 0.01 microg/g. This method was used for analysis of milk from a lactating cow treated for clinical mastitis with two intramammary infusions of kanamycin (KM). Milk samples were analyzed during the withdrawal times at 12-hour intervals. KM concentrations were lower than the Japanese provisional MRLs (0.4 microg/g) at 60 hours after infusion, and subsequently fell to 0.01 microg/g.

[Simultaneous determination of residual veterinary drugs in livestock products and fish by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry].

A rapid multiresidue method was developed for determination of 98 veterinary drugs in livestock products and fish by LC/MS/MS. The drugs were extracted with methanol, and the extracted solution was diluted with water. The methanol concentration was adjusted to 50%, and finally the diluted solution was filtered through a microfiltration membrane (0.02 microm diameter pore size) prior to LC/MS/MS. Recoveries of 87 drugs from 4 foods (milk, egg, rainbow trout and cattle muscle) fortified at 0.2 microg/g were in the range of 50-150% with a coefficient of variation (%) of less than 20%. The values obtained by this method from livestock products containing antibiotics were similar to those obtained by the official methods. This proposed method is expected to be useful as a multiresidue analysis method for screening of veterinary drugs in livestock products and fish.

[Simultaneous determination of pesticides in agricultural products by LC/MS/MS using clean-up with ultrafiltration].

A method for simultaneous determination of multiple pesticide residues in agricultural products was developed by using a pretreatment with ultrafiltration, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The pretreatment process (extraction of pesticides from agricultural products with methanol, dilution of the extract with water, and ultrafiltration) gave recoveries in the range of 50-150% for 63 of 83 pesticides spiked at 0.25 microg/ g into 6 agricultural products. The detection limits of pesticides by LC/MS/MS were below 0.0005-0.05 micro/g. This method is useful for screening purposes and for multiresidue analysis of pesticides in agricultural products. Pesticide residues in 50 domestic crops were investigated by this method, and residues of 14 pesticides were detected in 30 crops.