Spotted fever group Rickettsia in brown dog ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus in southwestern Spain

A total of 2,229 adults ticks (1,428 males and 801 females) belonging to the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille, 1806, collected from dogs in Seville province (Andalusia), distributed in 500 lots ranging from one to eight specimens per lot, were examined for the presence of rickettsi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology research (1987) 2008-06, Vol.103 (1), p.119-122
Main Authors: Márquez, F. J, Rodríguez-Liébana, J. J, Soriguer, R. C, Muniaín, M. A, Bernabeu-Wittel, M, Caruz, A, Contreras-Chova, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
DNA, Bacterial - classification
DNA, Bacterial - isolation & purification
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models
Immunology
Invertebrates
Male
Medical Microbiology
Medically important nuisances and vectors, pests of stored products and materials: population survey and control
Microbiology
Original Paper
Rhipicephalus sanguineus - microbiology
Rickettsia - classification
Rickettsia - isolation & purification
Spain
Vectors. Intermediate hosts
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Summary:A total of 2,229 adults ticks (1,428 males and 801 females) belonging to the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille, 1806, collected from dogs in Seville province (Andalusia), distributed in 500 lots ranging from one to eight specimens per lot, were examined for the presence of rickettsiae by molecular techniques. Specific rickettsiae DNA were detected in 90 lots (18%) of ticks tested. Sequence analysis of amplicons revealed that R. sanguineus ticks were infected exclusively with Rickettsia massiliae (including the strain Bar-29). The results of this study extend the knowledge of the geographic distribution and prevalence of these spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae and indicate that at least two of them, with yet uncertain pathogenicity to humans, are present in brown dog ticks in south western Spain. Although Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is an endemic disease in Andalusia, Rickettsia conorii was not found, whereas R. massiliae, recently described as a pathogenic species, was highly prevalent in this area. Our data suggest that in Andalusia a number of MSF or MSF-like cases attributed to R. conorii could have been actually caused by other SFG rickettsia present in R. sanguineus, particularly, R. massiliae.
ISSN:0932-0113
1432-1955
DOI:10.1007/s00436-008-0938-z