ABSTRACT
A survey of cockroach fauna was carried out on the 3 inhabited islands of the Ogasawara chain island of Japan, namely, Chichijima island, Hahajima island and Iwo island. Seven species, namely, Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus, 1758), Periplaneta australasiae (Fabricius, 1775), Blattella lituricollis (Walker, 1868), Onychostylus vilis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865), Supella longipalpa (Fabricius, 1798), Pycnoscelus surinamensis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Opisthoplatia orientalis (Burmeister, 1838), were collected on Chichijima island. Four species, namely, P. americana, P. australasiae, O. vilis and P. surinamensis were collected on Hahajima island and 6 species, namely, P. americana, P. australasiae, B. lituricollis, O. vilis, P. surinamensis and Neostylopyga rhombifolia were collected on Iwo island. This is the first record of N. rhombifolia and Onychostylus orientalis on the Ogasawara chain islands. Our study increases the recorded taxon of cockroaches on the Ogasawara from 3 families, 5 genera 10 species to 4 families, 7 genera, 12 species. A list of the cockroach species on Ogasawara islands reported to date as well as a key for their identification is also presented. Periplaneta americana and P. australasiae, being the dominant species, together with S. longipalpa, were collected mostly in the indoor environment, indicating their preference for this habitat. Pycnoscelus surinamensis, which is considered as an outdoor insect has been found in semi-household environments such as greenhouse and shed, indicating their new adaptation to the changing environment.
ABSTRACT
We report results on the seroprevalence of antibodies to Coxiella burnetii in cattle and healthy people in Korea. Upon agreement with dairy owners, serum samples from 414 dairy cattle were collected between March and June 2001 and samples from 205 people for health screening were collected between April and December 2002. The sera were analyzed for the presence of anti-C. burnetii phase II antibodies using an indirect microimmunofluorescence test; strong fluorescence at a 1:32 dilution was regarded as positive. The overall seroprevalence of C. burnetii in cattle in Korea was 25.6%, with regional variation from 8.9 to 59.3%. Of the positive serum samples, 75.5% had antibody titers > or =1:256. By contrast, only 1.5% of people in a rural area were seropositive, and most of the positive samples had low antibody titers. In conclusion, this study showed that relatively high seropositivity of C. burnetii in dairy cattle, accordingly, the studies on the high-risk groups are needed to evaluate the seroprevalence for this organism in Korea.