Short Report: New Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in a Rhipicephalus turanicus Tick Removed from a Child in Eastern Sicily, Italy

• Published in: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene Vol. 84; no. 1; pp. 99 - 101
• Main Authors: EREMEEVA, Marina E, STROMDAHL, Ellen Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Deerfield, IL American Society of Tropical Medecine and Hygiene 2011
• Subjects: Animals; Arachnid Vectors - microbiology; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infant; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Phylogeny; Rhipicephalus - microbiology; Rickettsia - classification; Rickettsia - genetics; Rickettsia - isolation & purification; Rickettsial diseases; Sicily - epidemiology; Tick Infestations - epidemiology; Tick Infestations - parasitology; Tropical bacterial diseases; Sicily; Italy; Europe; Human; Rickettsialosis; Boutonneuse fever; Infection; Rickettsiales; Rickettsial infection; Bacteriosis; Bacteria; Tropical medicine; Rickettsieae; Rickettsia; Child; Rickettsiaceae
• ISSN: 0002-9637; 1476-1645
• DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0176

A new genotype of spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) was identified in Rhipicephalus turanicus from eastern Sicily. On the basis of current molecular criteria, the genetic characteristics obtained from multiple locus sequence typing satisfy the requirements for Candidatus status of this SFGR. Further detection and identification of this SFGR during entomological and clinical surveys will be required to establish the prevalence of this Rickettsia and its potential pathogenicity for humans.